


A New Start

by crypticKC



Series: A New Start [2]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Pogtopia - Fandom, l'manberg - Fandom, l'manburg - Fandom, manberg - Fandom
Genre: Clay | Dream Redemption Arc (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream is not a dick for once, Evil Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Manberg, Multiple Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Runaway AU, Running Away, Toby Smith | Tubbo Angst, Toby Smith | Tubbo and TommyInnit Run Away, Toby Smith | Tubbo and TommyInnit are Siblings, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Tommyinnit and Tubbo run away, Villain Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), l'manberg, minecraft but its kind of real, no respawn, this is not ship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 28,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26964238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crypticKC/pseuds/crypticKC
Summary: After a particularly bad night, Tubbo asks Tommy again to run away from the war with him. This time, Tommy accepts.AKA can these two please just get a happy ending they don't deserve this
Relationships: Tommyinnit & Toby Smith, Tommyinnit & Tubbo
Series: A New Start [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000536
Comments: 301
Kudos: 2006





	1. Chapter 1

The night was silent at first. Almost completely normal before Tubbo arrived, sprinting as hard as he could towards the tiny, secret entrance of Pogtopia. He stumbled down the stairs, trying to find a balance between silent and quick, but just ending up descending clumsily, narrowly avoiding falling headfirst into the ravine.

Tommy always struggled with sleep, and the current state of affairs was not making it any easier for him. It took him a while each night to calm the anxieties that always tried to claw their way up into his mind whenever he was alone. That night he had finally fell into a fitful sleep after a few hours of tossing and turning.

Tubbo was trying his absolute best to be silent, but he was shaking horribly and it was hard to concentrate. He couldn't let himself cry again, because then it would be a while before he stopped, and he just didn't have that time.. But that didn't stop the memories of still hands grabbing him too roughly, of _him_ shouting- _No. None of that, he just needed to get downstairs, he just_ _needed to find Tommy-_

Tommy groaned as he was shook awake,  _ couldn't he have a few more minutes? He felt as if he'd  _ just  _ gotten to sleep…  _ But when he heard Tubbo's voice- Tubbo's  _ very panicked _ voice, he was instantly more alert. 

"Tommy- Tommy please wake up. I- I've got to- We-" 

Tommy sat up and leaned to light a torch. The flame brought Tubbo into view. He looked different… Tubbo's eyes were bloodshot as if from crying, and it was hard to tell with the shadows of the room dancing with the flame, but one of them looked slightly different from the other. Before Tommy could get a good look though, Tubbo shot up and began to pace about the room, opening chests, gathering supplies and dumping them onto the floor.

"Hey, Tubbo, Tubbo what's wrong? Are you okay? Hey- Don't go through my things man!"

He whirled around mid step and looked at Tommy. He appeared like he was desperately trying to figure out what to say, how to explain. 

"Tommy…" Doubt flooded him. How could he ask this of his best friend? It was surely a stupid, stupid idea. But… no. He was out of options. 

"Do you remember what we were talking about Tommy? I… Well you've still got all the discs right? We- we were saying… we could go. We could leave, just have a new start?" 

Oh. Of course he remembered. Tommy stood up from his bed and began to approach Tubbo slowly, trying not to startle or surprise him, given how rattled he seemed. 

"Yes, yeah I remember... But Tubbo, you need to slow down here, okay? Just calm down. Tell me what's happened?" 

However Tommy, upon getting closer, was already beginning to piece together for himself some of what happened. The discoloration on Tubbo's face was looking more and more to Tommy like a black eye, and parts of his ugly Manburgian suit were torn. Had he been in a fight? The thought of anyone hurting Tubbo filled Tommy with an immediate, blinding rage. He'd wake Wilbur and Techno, he'd get on his gear and he'd show whatever idiot did this-

As his thoughts raged on Tubbo grew very quiet. Tommy's focus had already shifted from the conversation onto acts of incredible violence, and a good thing too, because Tubbo began to take breaths to try and fight off the tears once again. Tell him what happened? He couldn't, because then he'd have to remember, and Tubbo did not want to remember, he just wanted to get  _ as far away from it as possible _ . 

"I know… I know we said that us leaving would be crazy but… would it be?" he whispered.

Tommy was snapped back into reality with the shock of the question. Of course it was ridiculous, right? Those were just fantasies, daydreams, but they were at war. So much was at stake, surely they had to stay and fight, no matter what, right?

"Yeah… I mean...Wilbur! He needs us! L'manberg does, Tubbo…" 

"L'manberg…" Tubbo said wistfully. He remembered a time when that  _ meant  _ something. 

"God, the festival… Wilbur… When did this all get so complicated?"

"I don't know."

Not for the first time, Tommy wishes it wasn't. That things were just how they were, when there were just friends fooling around.

"Tommy. I need to ask you this, I need you to be honest with me okay? I'm doing it. I'm leaving. I can't- I can't do this anymore. Schlatt he-" Tubbo flinched as he said the name, but continued on over the speedbump, "I need to know now. Are you coming with me?"

_ Leave L'manberg? _ The place he's fought so hard for? Abandon Wilbur and Techno? It's ridiculous, crazy, but somehow, he already knew the answer. He knew that he cared about Tubbo more than he cared about anything else. If this was Tubbo's breaking point, it was his too.

"Yes."

Tubbo does a double take.

"Yes? Wait, really yes?"

"Yes. I…" He glances over to where he knows Wilbur's bed is, across the ravine. Wilbur, once the greatest leader and man Tommy ever knew, taken over by hatred and a need for revenge. He wanted to hope for Wilbur, he so  _ desperately  _ did. He wanted to believe he would snap out of it and come to his senses and be the man he was. And maybe there's a chance he will… but Tommy couldn't be around to find out. Not when Tubbo needed him. Still, he is uncharacteristically somber when he responds,

"I don't think there's anything here worth fighting for anymore." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first ever (posted) fic! This is a new platform for me to excuse me if I mess up.  
> This story takes place after the festival announcement but before it actually happens. Tommy and Tubbo are GONE before it.


	2. Chapter 2

They packed in record time, falling into a comfortable pattern as they divided things amongst themselves. Tommy had already decided against a horse in his mind, it's speed would have been nice, but it would definitely be more hassle than it was worth. Tubbo slings a packed bag over his shoulder,

"We should go, suns up in a few hours. Maybe less." he murmurs. Tommy agreed, but still wondered,

"Should we… should we leave a note or something…?" He really didn't know the appropriate course of action here was. Would a note be helpful? He was trying not to, but he could already imagine the chaos when Wilbur woke and realized Tommy wasn't anywhere. He'd recently been much more strict with Tommy's whereabouts, what with the festival coming up so soon, he'd probably notice the absence right away. Would a note keep the Wilbur freak-out to a minimum? Did he even care?

"It's, uh, it's probably safer if we leave no trace, you know? But I mean, I won't stop you, if you have something to say. A goodbye, or something like that..." 

Oh boy, that's a definite no from Tommy. Sentimentals were not his style. He knew it wasn't Techno's, either, so that wasn't an issue. And Wilbur… how would he even go about a goodbye to Wilbur? At the moment, Tommy didn't think there was much he had to say to the man that Wilbur hadn't already heard. However, if there was one person Tommy felt deserved an explanation…

"Hand me a quill, Tubbo." 

_ Big D, _

_ I must make this brief.  _

_ Once, you wrote to me with a dream of a kingdom that rules with kindness. Once, I believed this dream could be realized in L'manberg, under Wilbur's rightful rule.  _

_ Well, looks like for the first time in my life, I was wrong. _

_ Wilbur's gone mad. Please don't trust him. Neither side actually cares about what's right anymore. They both only want one thing, and that's power. _

_ Well, Tubbo and I are having none of it. We're washing our hands of this whole damn thing.  _

_ I'm sorry I couldn't see this through to the end with you, though. I know you'd have been one hell of an ally.  _

_ -Tommy _

As he looks up from his note, he's pleased to see that as he wrote Tubbo had changed out of his suit. He's back in his old green shirt, and though he still looks stressed, he seems a tad bit more comfortable. Tommy puts the note in his pocket, intending it for the chest upstairs, the same one where Dream first wrote to him, all those months ago. Hopefully that will keep it from Wilbur and Techno, he didn't imagine they would check that chest. It had been emptied for weeks. 

They ascend the stairs silently, Tommy places his note, and they're ready to go. All that time, all of the pain and fear and joy that Tommy put into L'manberg and Pogtopia was in that cave. Tommy probably should have found it tempting to look back as they walked, to watch the entrance slowly disappear. But surprisingly, all he could focus on was Tubbo, marching silently on. 

\---------------------------

They trekked in more or less a straight line, having no goal but sheer distance. As the sun rose, the trees thickened around them, providing a cover they were both grateful for. They maintained a strict silence for a while, both fearful of discovery as they were still in range of Pogtopia. Tubbo didn't want to imagine what would happen if they were found like this. He imagined Tommy would probably go down fighting, and Schlatt would certainly be happy to  _ take _ him down. He'd probably want Tubbo to watch as some sick form of a punishment. The thought of it causes him to shudder. Tommy glances over to him curiously, but gets no response. Tubbo doesn't want to explain, he quickly busies himself with climbing over an exposed cave. 

As the sun moves further into the sky and they detect nothing suspicious, the fear that binds them into silence begins to fade. The snap of every twig doesn't cause the two to flinch, the moo of a wild cow doesn't sound like an enemy. Tubbo even allows himself to feel just a tiny bit of hope. Were they really going to do this? They were going to get away?

Eventually the trees give way exposing murky swamp water. They stop before it, and glance at each other. Daring to speak for the first time, Tommy asks,

"Should we try and go 'round?

The taste of freedom gives Tubbo a boost of energy. He gives Tommy a mischievous glance and says,

"Why, because you don't think you can parkour on the lillypads?" 

Tommy may be sleep deprived and scared, but he knows a challenge when he hears one, and the kingdom will freeze over before Tommy ignores a challenge. He's already mapping his route from stone to lillypad onto the nearest tiny island- 

"I'll race you?" Tommy smirked.

"Well, Tommy, you know, we really shouldn-",

Tubbo shoves Tommy back and launches himself forward onto the first stone, laughing the whole way. The trick doesn't give Tubbo a lead for long, soon Tommy is upon him, and they're pushing and leaping from one rock to the other while trying to avoid the dark water. Tommy sees the edge of the swamp, and decides to jump for it- 

"YEEEES!" Tommy screams in victory as the race is won. He stumbles onto the shore, too much momentum to slow down- and disappears. 

Tubbo's smile disappears instantly when he loses sight of Tommy, and he rushes forward to the shore, not caring that his pants get soaked as he does. He sees what happened the closer he gets, an exposed cave, Tommy going too fast to stop, and him laying at the bottom of it, blood beginning to pool around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this ended this way but don't worry! I promise it gets better <3


	3. Chapter 3

_"TOMMY"_ Tubbo shrieked. He all but dives into the open ground hastily and rushes to his friend's side. Tommy is somewhat dazed, but still groans, 

"Ugh- shut up Tubbo, God," This does not help in quieting Tubbo down, his fretting continues,

"Tommy?! Tommy! I- Are you okay? Wh- Did you hit your head? What's happened, where are you-"

"TUBBO! I SAID TO SHUT UP!" Tommy snaps, impatience overcoming him. Jeez didn't the guy consider that someone could hear them? But as he sees Tubbos face contort in pain, the anger disappears. He immediately regrets yelling, but it's too late to take back. 

Tubbo's breathing speeds up, he just- he feels tears threaten his eyes again, but this time he just can't hold them in any longer, he's exhausted, he's miserable and he's _so, so scared_. And now Tommy's hurt, he's angry, and it's his fault, just like everything else is, and it's all been piled up for so long, he's holding his head in his hands and taking ragged breaths as he finally lets himself cry.

Seeing Tubbo so vulnerable is probably the worst thing Tommy has ever seen. His temper has gotten him into bad situations, but he _hates_ himself for this. He reaches an awkward hand out and holds his friends shoulder as he lets everything out, a gesture of support. His next words were spoken with a softness that only his best friend had ever heard from him,

"I'm sorry Tubbo." 

Tubbo looks up at him. Tommy has no idea what he sees in his face, but it does calm his sobs somewhat. He knows he feels ashamed by what he did and sad that Tubbo was hurt. Did any of that show through? He wants to say something more to him, but… whatever it is, he supposes it's not the time for it. 

"Look, it's alright! I'm okay! I just scraped my arms a bit, yeah? Everything is-oh!"

Tommy had been moving to sit up, but stopped short as he felt sharp pain in his leg. He glanced down and- oh. Adrenaline waning, he did notice for the first time his leg, covered in blood. 

"Yeah," Tubbo sniffed and wiped his tears, "Just stay still, I know what to do." He reached into his bag and pulled out whatever he thought could help. Thank God Tommy wore shorts all the time, there was nothing obstructing him. Fortunately, the injury wasn't actually as bad as it looked. He used some of his water to start cleaning the cut off. Focusing on this was good for Tubbo, he was able to finally calm down fully as he worked. No need for thinking or worrying, just this. Eventually, Tubbo decided he wanted to bandage his friend's leg somehow. He didn't have any bandages on him though… it's not even a decision he consciously makes, but Tubbo's using his sword to cut his own sleeve off to wrap around Tommy's leg.

Tommy could have fixed himself, of course he could have! But, y'know, whatever, if it made Tubbo happy. He is Mr. Clingy, after all. He watches him work, actually admiring how gentle his friend was. He jostled nothing, and was careful in a way that Tommy could never replicate. When he took out his sword and tore his sleeve, Tommy was a bit confused, but soon the fabric was tied tightly round his calf, all but stopping the remaining bloodflow. Tubbo looked at him and smiled softly. He did a good job, Tommy had to agree. He's _almost_ inclined to feel immense affection for his friend, but of course he doesn't. That would be silly. 

"Right, well, let's continue on then.."

"What? No, man, we should make camp here for the night." 

Tommy sat himself up, slower this time, and succeeded in righting himself without pain. 

"I'm _fine_ to walk Tubbo."

"It's getting dark"

"We've got like an hour before sundown!" 

"Exactly, we should get prepared!"

Tommy sighs, and puts his hands up in surrender. 

"Fine, but I am making the most- just, tiny, impossible to find camp possible in this cave. We're still a bit too close for my liking."

" _I'll look for firewood!_ " Tubbo cried, and jumped up excitedly. He prepares to climb up out of the cave, but turns back. 

"You'll be okay right? I won't be gone long! I'll stay close, just yell if you need anyt-"

He has to duck as Tommy halfheartedly throws a rock at him. 

"GO! I am FINE!"

He climbs, and is off. Tubbo is excited to explore a little. They had passed so many cool looking things on their way, but had to keep moving. It would be nice to look around. He had never been this far from home before! 

He flinches slightly. "Home". He hadn't really had one of those for a long long time. Manburg was technically the place he had been sleeping, eating, and living, but it wasn't a home, it was an awful place. At least, for Tubbo it was.. His new torn sleeve exposed one of the most recent testaments to that, a strange splotchy bruise around his forearm that suspiciously matches Schlatt's hand. He sighs, even when Schlatt wasn't _particularly_ angry with him, he was never gentle. The whole 'right hand man' bit was just that, a bit. Frankly, Schlatt fucking hated him. Tubbo was a constant reminder of the rebellion, of his dissenters. He never had to explicitly say it, it was pretty obvious in the way he insulted him, screamed at him for every little mistake, and of course, how much worse his punishments were than everyone elses...

Tubbo glances up from his somber train of thought, he's got to focus, he has a job to do. He spots a dead branch hanging on a tree, perfect for the fire! Most of the ground wood in the swamp was too wet to be used, so this was probably his best bet. Tubbo grabs a branch and hoists himself up. Perhaps he could tell Tommy he fell out of a tree… that that was how he'd hurt himself. It would certainly save him a lot of trouble… But no. Tommy had seen his black eye already. He hadn't said anything, but what other conclusion was there to draw? He grabs an axe from his bag and swings down hard.

He hops down gently from his tree, branch in hand, and continues on.

Tubbo had never wanted to tell Wilbur or Tommy. He didn't want to worry them! They would have wanted to pull him out of Manberg, and had to keep on spying. He was getting important information to them! Besides, that was just how things were in Manberg. You mess up, you have to deal with the consequences. It wasn't Wilbur and Tommy's fault Tubbo messed up a lot. Ugh, Tubbo was already getting a headache worrying about it all, he decided he was going to focus on nothing but branches from that point on. 

Tubbo came back later than he had wanted to, but luckily Tommy managed to keep himself alive in the meantime. He had, as promised, set up a tiny camp. It was hidden enough into the cave that it'd be difficult to spot from aboveground, but it had all of their sleeping gear set up. To Tubbo's surprise, there was even a small fire!

"Whoa! How'd you manage this?" He asks.

Tommy shrugs, "I had enough to _start_ a fire at least. But yeah, I'll be needing that wood now."

He places the branches down and watches as the fire strengthens. 

"Nice, now I can actually cook these.." He pulls out two chickens and places them by the fire. 

"Oh my god! You have chicken? Tommy you are the best."

"Yeah, I know." 

The two weren't _completely_ starving, they had been eating potatoes consistently on the way, but having some actual meat sounded very very good. 

Once cooked, they both dug in, watching above as the stars began to get more pronounced in the sky. Tommy felt more exhausted than he was letting on, after not sleeping for so long, and then with hurting his leg and setting up camp? He was ready to turn in, and Tubbo agreed. They both settled into their beds for the night, and were no later fast asleep.

Tommy's nightmare was different than usual. He doesn't know where he is, he's surrounded by darkness. Dozens of anonymous hands were grabbing onto him, holding him back as he thrashed desperately in an attempt to escape. He didn't know why, but he _needed_ to escape them, that it was more important than anything else in the world. More figures came into view as he struggled, the first ones he can recognize. Schlatt. He says nothing, but smiles knowingly at Tommy. Then, kneeling besides him with his arms tied, Tubbo. Someone hands Schlatt a crossbow. 

Tommy triples his efforts, but he can't escape, the people holding him are too strong, too many. They grab his face and point it at Tubbo, making him watch as Schlatt knocks an arrow and-

Tommy doesn't believe in souls, but when Tubbo dies, a part of him is tangibly severed as well. The hands release him, and he falls to the ground. After that there's nothing but him, darkness, and a gaping, unending pain.

He jolts awake and there's Tubbo, looking quite sleepy and confused, but fine. The pain he felt in his chest is gone.

"Uuuugh, what'd you kick me for?" Tubbo groans.

"I was having a dream." He says.

"Oh? What was it?" 

"Women. Lots of women, they were all in love with me." He says, but the joke sounds hollow, even to him. Luckily, Tubbo is too tired to notice, and they quickly fall back into sleep, and do not stir again until daybreak. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would never actually hurt Tommy guys, anyone who says otherwise is lying


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to add a CW before this chapter for mention of past abuse! Be careful <3

Their journey was repetitive, but never boring, as long as they had each other. For kids who've known each other so long, conversation wasn't difficult. They joke about things they see, the stuff they remember, and nothing at all. 

The swamp gives way to a spruce forest, much like Pogtopia's, the trees eventually change from oak to birch and so on, but the forests remain. Their third day of travel they run into a bit of a speedbump, a mountain. It would have been a problem for them if they were both at peak health, but with Tommy's leg it takes even longer to ascend. They successfully make their way up, and cross the plateau at the top with little effort. As quickly as the slight break begins, it ends, and they must start to work their way down again. They're about halfway down when Tubbo stops dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" Tommy asks. Tubbo doesn't respond, his gaze is fixed on a point down at the ground. 

"What are you looking at?" Tommy cranes his neck and tries to find what Tubbo is seeing. 

"No way…" he whispers,

Tubbos stillness breaks, he moves behind his friend and forces the zipper of his bag open, grabs something, and runs toward the edge of the cliff, smiling the whole way. 

"TUBBO WHAT THE FU-"

Tommy's panic subsides slightly as he sees Tubbo land safely in the water he placed.

"TUBBO! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" 

"TOMMY GET DOWN HERE QUICK! THERE'S BEES!" He yells back. Tubbo runs into the woods after them, apparently forgetting Tommy's leg made that a bit difficult. Still, he makes his way down as quickly as he's able, and enters the forest where Tubbo did. He walks straight for a bit before the trees break to reveal a flower forest, nestled into the gap between the mountains. And, yes, there are bees. Tubbo is following them and watching them work, and giggling when they come over to investigate him. A part of Tommys mind acknowledges that this is a very sweet moment. The majority of his mind can't believe Tubbo _leaped off of a cliff because he saw a damn bee_. 

"Tubbo!" He yells.

Tubbo looks away from the bees to his friend walking towards him.

"What was that! You just grab my bucket and abandon me on a cliff?? Dude! Very not cool! That is what's known as a dick mo-"

Tommy raises his arms in exasperation while ranting, and Tubbo flinches hard, raising his arm in defense. Tommy pauses, confused. Wait, why would he- certainly he didn't think…

Tubbo, realizing his unconscious mistake, whips his arms down to his side. 

"Uh, right, sorry Tommy."

He waves it off. "Meh, it's fine"

"Hey, uh, I was thinking though, do you… do you think this is an okay place to settle?" 

This distracts him. Here? Well, they were definitely far out from Manburg. He looks around. It was pretty he supposed, and it did have bees for Tubbo. The mountains surrounding them were good, a sort of automatic defence mechanism. Of course, it'd make it hard for _them_ to leave, too. Unless they had a tunnel of course…

"I can work with this." He says. He can already picture the beautiful new Prime Path, in all its glory!

"If this place is okay with you, then yeah." Tommy says. Tubbo smiles wide in response. He couldn't have imagined a few days ago they'd find such a perfect place! Before he can stop himself, he's encasing his friend in a hug. Tommy returns it, but soon they break away as he mutters,

"Alright, okay, that's enough."

They make camp as normal, but spend the rest of the day gathering supplies to make the settlement more permanent. 

"What should we call it?" Tubbo asks as he brings over more wood to the roof.

"Nothing." Tommy replies bluntly.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. This isn't like Pogtopia or Manberg. It's not a nation, it's not an army. It's just us, you know? And this is where we live. It doesn't need a name."

Tubbo considers this, and nods happily. 

"Just home then."

\-----------

The moon came faster than they would have wanted, bringing the night with her. They began to hear the telltale signs of monsters, so they go inside to safety. However unlike previous nights, they hadn't spent all day before hiking, so they found they had enough energy to not immediately pass out. 

Tommy sat down in their makeshift home, mind already racing with ideas for improvement. Tubbo came in soon after, he had officially changed out of his old travel clothes, and was wearing a short sleeve shirt. Tommy only noticed this change because it exposed a variety of ugly bruises, all in different stages of healing. Tubbo seemed completely relaxed, as if there was nothing abnormal about his appearance at all. But it took Tommy by surprise. Looking at him, some of his bruises looked to be weeks old. That's strange, why would he have _old_ bruises? As far as Tommy was aware, his fight with the Manberg crowd was a few days ago. Why did they look so distinct, too? On his right arm Tommy swore he could make out the shape of… fingers?

His stomach dropped as a variety of things came together in Tommy's mind, painting a picture he did not want to see. Tubbo had old, almost healed bruises. He flinched at Tommy earlier, as if he expected... Tommy never asked him what happened that night. He assumed… He had assumed it was one bad fight. He assumed it was one time. It had been one time, right?

"Tubbo...?" He asks cautiously. Tubbo doesn't notice the tone shift, and chirps back a

"Yeah?"

"I… was wondering. What… what happened that night? The… last night?"

Tubbo shifted uncomfortably at the question.

"Tommy… I don't think we really need to talk about that." He said so quietly it was almost a whisper.

"Who punched you?"

Caught off guard, Tubbo looked at him confused. What did he mean who punched him? Wasn't it… clear? Why was Tommy asking insisting they talk about this now, after they had just settled in! 

"Schlatt." He answers, as if it was obvious. 

Tommy's head spun. He was reminded of his nightmare. The pain in his chest hurt kind of like it did then. 

"Wh- why-" Tommy was at a complete loss for words. He had no idea how to ask what he wanted to ask. He wasn't even sure he wanted to ask it. Tubbo was getting frustrated.

"Tommy, you're confusing me."

" _You're confusing ME!_ " Tommy cries.

"I thought you already knew that- that- what happened."

"What happened? Tubbo _. What happened?_ " He asks, the intensity of his stare causing Tubbo to pause. Did Tommy really not understand? He looks down to the floor and grits his teeth to keep from getting overwhelmed. This… is not what he expected. He really thought Tommy knew, he thought they could just ignore it… just live their new life without being bothered by any of that.

"Tubbo. Did he. Did Schlatt. Did that happen… often?" 

"No," He replies quickly. That was an easier question to answer, "No, he'd never punched me before then."

Tommy hears the implication of the sentence. He feels like he must be dying. He's sure he'd prefer it, at this point. Every word of this conversation his brain processes is like one more piece of him is ripped away. How was there anything left of him to choke out,

"Punched?"

"Yeah."

"Does that mean. Did he _. Did he do anything else?_ "

Tubbo once again fidgets uncomfortably. This one was not as easy to answer. His response is barely a whisper.

"Well… only when I messed something up." Tubbo admits.

Tommy locks every single muscle in his body in place as he feels himself become replaced by pure violence. It rages inside of him, begging for release he can not grant it. If he does, he's going to explode. He's going to go back, he's going to burn Manberg to the ground, he'll kill everyone, he's going to find Schlatt and make him-

No. That's what the violence wants, but Tommy knows the reality. In reality, what he's most likely going to do if he lets himself is destroy their home, freak out Tubbo. He cannot allow that. It's that one truth that gives him the strength to remain very, very still, despite wanting to rampage. He stretches his hearing to listen outside. For any bee noises, of the sound of wind outside, of the wood of their house settling, anything. He focuses very hard on those sounds, and nothing else, until he feels less like a being of pure rage and more like Tommy. Tommy, who was capable of controlling himself. Tommy, who Tubbo needs right now. He eventually feels safe enough to open his eyes. 

Tubbo is looking at him with concern. As if _Tommy's_ the one who needs it right now. He takes a deep breath to further steady himself.

"I'm okay."

Tommy gives him an incredulous look.

"I am, seriously."

Tubbo pauses for a moment to make sure his friend wasn't going to set fire to anything, and when he's still for the next few seconds, he assumes he's telling the truth.

"Well… yeah. Sorry, I just, I thought you knew already."

"I didn't." 

Tubbo sighs. "Well, it's not your fault. No one really does. Or, did, I guess."

"No one at Manberg?" Tommy wonders quietly. He knows for a fact Wilbur and Techno had no idea, what was the situation over there?

"No. Eh… maybe? It's sort of complicated. No one ever… he never did anything in front of people, but I think some people knew anyway. It was like this unspoken thing, where they were too scared to say anything about it. Guess they just... didn't want it to be them next." 

Tommy remains silent for a moment after that, assessing his violence levels to see if he was safe to continue. He wants to commit murder, of course he does, but as long as no citizen of Manberg was in front of him, he thinks he's in control enough to continue. 

"When? When did this begin? Tell me everything. If you, you know, feel okay to." 

He didn't want to make his friend talk about anything if it was going to upset him. 

"I don't know man, what's there to say? He didn't start that way. He only just yelled at me and stuff. Then one day he got really mad and…" Tubbo gestures vaguely.

"I dunno, I wanted to mention it to someone. Nikki maybe. But… I felt weird about it, I guess. I didn't want her to think I was…" He trails off, not knowing how to conclude. 

"Besides, then I would have had to explain what I did, and she would have thought I was dumb."

"No she wouldn't have, man. She would have thought Schlatt was an absolute dickhead and that you didn't do anything wrong. She would have wanted to help."

Tubbo gives him a halfhearted smile.

"Well, it doesn't matter now I guess. Because we're here."

Tommy reaches out and grabs his friend's hand.

"Yeah. We're here." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have read and reread this chapter so many times I don't know if it works anymore but HERE IT IS  
> Poor Tubbo :(  
> You can hc who you think knew/ didn't know as whoever you want, I kept is vauge for a reason. However I don't think Nikki did, she would have committed homicide.  
> Edit- in the future the situation in manberg becomes less vauge, i just hadn't planned for it to be needed for the story when i wrote this chapter lol


	5. Chapter 5

Tommy was hesitant to leave Tubbo the next morning, but they both agreed it was best for them to split up and tackle different tasks. Tommy descended into the mines, and Tubbo works on getting wood and completing the house. 

Tubbo was secretly pleased at this plan, he loves Tommy dearly, but he wasn't the… most skilled in interior design. If Tubbo had been the one to mine, he assumes he'd come home to another giant cobblestone tower and not, like, an actual functional house. 

He chops and replants trees, collecting as much wood as he could. He is very careful to not trod on flowers that the bees could use. After he collects what he deems is enough, he gets to work. Tommy had given him some pointers about what he wanted, but pretty much left him with full creative control.

He happily built the rest of the morning away, and when it came time to eat, he grabbed some food and automatically begins to look for an unobtrusive place, somewhere where no one would-

He realizes with a start that his search was unnecessary. That he could eat wherever he wanted! He can't help but smile at the thought. He could eat on the roof, the top of a tree, literally wherever, and no one would stop him. He already knows what he wants to do with this freedom, though. Tubbo jogs outside and sits in the flower field. He ate his bread and chicken and, not ready to get back to work just yet, layed down just to feel the sun on his face. Tubbo felt more at ease than he had in a long time. He should definitely get back to work, but the warmth was really really nice, and the grass was soft, and he was actually… really comfortable… zzz

\---------------

Tommy pops his head up above the surface at around midday and heads towards the house. He was proud of his mining session. He found a decent amount of iron and coal, and even some gold! Evidence of Tubbo's work was visible too, he saw framework of the house expansion had been laid in his absence. He went in and threw the iron into the furnace, but didn't see Tubbo. He peeks into the other room, but he's not there either. 

"Tubbo?" He calls, to no answer. 

He goes outside and looks near the woods. Tubbo had clearly been chopping and working here, but he was nowhere to be found. 

"Tubbo?!" He calls again, panic beginning to bleed into his voice-

He almost stumbles straight into him as he walks. Tubbo is laying in the grass, fast asleep. Tommy is overwhelmed at the sight of it. He looks so _cute_. It should absolutely be wrong, Tommy can't think of any particularly good thing he's ever done to deserve a sight like this, but here it is anyway. The world is strange like that, he supposes, rewarding the undeserving. 

He should probably bring him inside, but… no, he didn't trust his arm strength to carry him. Well, if he couldn't move him… He didn't want him to be out here alone, exposed to the elements or monsters or anything… 

Tommy lays down next to him. Just to make sure he's safe, of course. The sun is nice, the clouds pass by in funny shapes, but he finds himself mostly watching Tubbo. His breathing is even, he looks very relaxed. He's pleased to see it, Tubbo had been way stressed lately. It sucked, it wasn't the Tubbo he knew. He notices that though slowly, his black eye is healing. It's not as dark as it was when it first appeared. Tommy wondered if that old tale about putting steak on black eyes would really work? He thought he saw a cow nearby somewhere.

He continues to sits there with his friend, just watching and thinking, as the day passed by.

Tubbo jerks awake eventually, confused at his surroundings. The sun was bright in his eyes. Where was he? Wh- He was supposed to be working wasn't he? _Fuck fuck fuck_ \- he fell asleep while working. He- Oh, God, Schlatt-

"Tubb? You awake there?" 

Tubbo turns at the sound. Tommy is there. He's there and he's smiling at him, although not for long, the smile fades, concern replacing it. 

"Tubbo?" 

"I- Hi, sorry I was. Confused."

"Are you alright?"

"I just forgot is all. I thought. I thought…"

"Oh."

He doesn't need to say it, Tommy understands. His hand quietly seeks out Tubbos. The gesture says more than if he had spoken. 

"It's okay, man. We're okay here"

"I know that." He says softly. 

"It's… hard to feel it sometimes though, you know?" 

Tommy knows. He knows he's still so scared, despite being all the way out here. He knows that every night he has nightmares of what could have been. It's hard to believe safety is real, that it's even possible.

They remain there together until the sun sets, hand in hand.

\----------------

It took only a few more days to complete their house, as well as their new Prime Path. Even though it was difficult, Tubbo managed to convince Tommy they did _not_ need an intimidation tower. ( _Who would they be intimidating?? The world, of course, Tubbo._ ) They had corralled some animals, started a tiny farm, and Tommy had even stumbled upon diamonds in the mines. It was really only the basics, but Tubbo couldn't be happier. He felt like everything was coming together. 

They didn't worry about armour, except when in the mines. The constant presence of the other was a source of security. Even when they woke from nightmares, the other was never far away.

One day when Tommy was in the mines, Tubbo gets an idea. Surviving in the great outdoors was fine and all, but what Tubbo really wanted was something _fun_ , and he thinks he knows just the way to provide it. He creates a mini parkour and archery challenge for the two of them. He made it safe, of course, with water lining the bottom, but Tommy is so excited he acts as if its the most extreme competition to ever exist. 

Admittedly, they were both about equally skilled in archery, but Tommy did better in parkour. His fierce determination also gave him an edge. Tubbo didn't even care that he was losing, he still congratulationed Tommy every time he succeeded. He had a great time, even though he supposed he did technically owe Tommy a new axe now, per their bet. 

They're putting away bows and arrows and laughing when thier afternoon is shattered by three knocks on their door. 

They freeze in absolute shock for a moment. Then Tommy is moving, bolting for other room. He's back in a second, netherite armour equipped and holding a sword, all done without a sound. Tubbo is able to break out of his stillness too, grabbing a crossbow and notching an arrow. He's shaking, he's scared, yes, but he shoves it down. If it's… if it's one of _them,_ he's not willing to go down without a fight. He refuses to give this up, Tommy, their new home. And he'll die before he's dragged back to Manburg. 

This shift into defense mode happens in a matter of seconds, so it's jarring to hear their opponent speak to them casually.

"Tommy? Tubbo? Are you guys there? It's me."

Dream. 

Tommy gives him a questioning look, but Tubbo is just as confused. All he can do is shake his head and shrug, _I have no idea either_. Tommy turns back to the door, determined. Before he can figure out what decision his friend has apparently made he's kicking the door open and shoving Dream back. He's taken off guard by the attack, so he soon finds himself backed into a tree with an enchanted sword to his neck. The process happened very quickly, too fast for Tubbo to have followed along, but he sees the context clues here and is pointing the crossbow at Dream too. 

"Wha- _WHOA! GUYS!_ " Dreams hands go up in immediate surrender. 

"Sorry, I probably should have led with this. I come in peace! Peaceful visitor here! I'm just here to talk, okay? Look, no armour, see?" 

Tubbos sees he's right, he's come in his normal green getup, no armour in site. He lowers his crossbow automatically. 

"Man, sorry Dream! Our bad, we thought you were Schlatt or something!" He says, relieved there's no threat. It's only then that he notices Tommy has not moved his sword.

" _Were you followed?_ " He demands. The intensity of Tommy's voice is out of character. Dream understands the importance of the question, and responds seriously. 

"No, I made sure of it."

Tommy hesitates.

"Tommy. I swear to you, no one followed me. No one knows I'm gone, and no one will ever know about this place. I ONLY wanted to talk, that's all." 

Tommy is not easily swayed, especially when he knows what's on the line. He looks back at Tubbo. _Tubbo._ He hates this, he hated ever putting Tubbo at risk.

"Tommy." 

He turns back to see Dream pulling up his mask up. He exposes half of his face, looking Tommy in the eyes when he says,

"No one else will _ever_ find you if you don't want to be found." 

Tommy releases Dream and puts away his sword. Tubbo, happy that the tensions were all over with, says

"Come in big man! We have chicken for you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fluff in this chapter is the only think keeping me sane,,,, they just,,, deserve to be happy  
> I'd also like to reiterate there is NO intended ship in this fic


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to put CW in this chapter for anxiety and panic attacks! There is also more mentions of past abuse and death

"It's so cool to see you Dream! Honestly I thought it was just gonna be me and Tommy out here for, well, ever." Tubbo muses. They're sat in the common room of sorts, passing around food. Dream is having most of it, being hungry after travelling. Between bites, he responds,

"Yeah, well, I saw Tommys note and I… I knew I had to see you guys."

"If you've come to try and change our minds, you've wasted your time." Tommy snaps. He wasn't eating at all, and is sitting with his arms crossed, tense. He trusts what Dream said, but having an intruder doesn't sit well with him. And Dream's behavior isn't helping soothe him either. The man seems as nervous as he is, he's fidgeting. Tubbo is the only one truly relaxing, not oblivious to the tensions, but deciding he simply doesn't care. It's nice to have a visitor!

"No! God, no. There's nothing wrong with what you did." He quickly explains. 

"Well, that's what I think personally, at least. I mean, _technically_ , you broke _Manberg's_ law. But who cares about that?"

"Not me!" Tubbo replies casually. Tommy only responds with a grunt. 

"How is Manberg?" Tommy asks.

Dream shifts uncomfortably again in his seat.

"Well, Tubbo, you're uh, banned from Manberg. Tommy you're, I don't know, double banned? Your banning was renewed? Basically, neither of you are welcome."

"Pft. Good riddance. I never wanted to go back there anyway." 

Tommy narrows his eyes at Dream. It didn't evade him that he avoided the question. 

"Hey guys, thank you so much for the food, but I'm kinda tired…"

"Oh! I didn't even realize it was so late! You can sleep here tonight Dream!" Tubbo happily goes about setting up Dream's impromptu sleeping setup. They didn't exactly have copious guest rooms, so he'll have to make do in the same common room they ate in.

They were soon saying their goodnights. Tubbo yawns and heads up to sleep, but Tommy hangs back.

"Oh, what's up man, did you need something?" Dream asks. Tommy shrug.

"Can we just get this out of the way Dream? What aren't you telling us?"

Dream is taken aback. 

"Tommy come on, w- what…" Dream begins to stumble out a denial, but lets it trail off. He notices Tommy's accusation has no malice in it, and he's looking at him with a kind of resignes patience. He just looks... very, very tired. Defeated. Dream is struck by how different this person looked from the kid who battled him for discs a long time ago. He didn't notice as it was happening, but he supposes he's grown up a lot since then. Too much, much more than he should have had to. Dream decides there's no point in lying to him. But even still, he doesn't want to drop the news without a warning of sorts.

"Tommy… Ignorance is a bliss you can't get back once you've lost it. I… didn't know if you would want to keep it out here." Dream admits.

Tommy gives a small, wistful smile, and glances upstairs. 

"It is blissful, isn't it? All his doing, though." 

The smile fades, and the tiredness is back on his face.

"Ignorance is a gift I don't get to have though. It never has been. Just say what you need to."

Dream had been dreading this for days. He knew he would have to be the bearer of bad news, but seeing for himself how… different they both looked made it all the more unpleasant.

"Dude, I think this is a conversation for the mornin-"

" _Dream you sonofabitch just fucking tell me!_ It's not this hard!" He hisses, trying to keep quiet for Tubbo's sake but getting annoyed. Well, there's a bit of the Tommy Dream knew. He lets out a sharp sigh. He says simply,

"They knew. They knew he was a spy. Probably the whole time."

Tommy was bracing himself for the worst, but this wasn't as bad as he was expected. I mean, he had always considered that that was a possibility. Tubbo wasn't an expert secret keeper after all. 

"Alright. Well, that's not the most _shocking_ revelation." He says. Dream's expression tells him that's not the only news though. He waits for him to continue. 

"They… they were planning on… executing him. Publicly. At the festival."

Tommy was however _not at all_ prepared to hear _that._ His head didn't have any time to stop the images that appear before him. Tubbo, crying, begging for his life on a stage with who knows how many people watching. He shakes his head desperately, trying to get the images out, but Dream doesn't notice and continues on.

"That was the whole purpose of it. A whole festival, just to kill a kid! That's sick, if you ask me. That's why I was…

Dream's voice fades into the background of Tommy's thoughts. His mind could conjure the scene so easily. Schlatt's sick laugh, Tubbo's screams- would they have even bothered to make it painless? His body falling limp, 

Tommy feels like he's in his nightmare again, but it's so infinitely worse because this time it was _real._ Somehow, impossibly, the pain that paralyzed him in his dream feels a million times worse in reality. It's choking him- _he can't breathe_

He's already leaving the room before he even consciously tells his legs to do so. He thinks he gets out of the house, but everything is blurring together. A small part of him registers that it was smart he didn't eat, because the contents of his stomach are quickly being emptied.

Everything is still swirling, and there's nothing to hang on to. It's just him and the pain again. Well, at least this he's used to. He sits there and allows it to all encase him. All he can do is sit there, try and keep intaking his ragged breaths, and wait. 

Wait he does. Until the agony rides its course and begins its fade. Until the pain downsizes from his whole body to a normal hole in his chest. His hearing returns to him and lets in some sound from the world around him. His new awareness also reveals to him Tubbo, sitting behind him rubbing his back calmly. It's so natural, it takes him a minute to realize Tubbo wasn't meant to be there. He's too tired to question him though. Tubbo sees recognition come back into Tommy's eyes, and before he can say anything, pulls him into a hug. Tommy not only allows it, he's immensely grateful for it, he can feel Tubbo right there, in his arms, alive. It helps him calm down. 

Tubbo slings Tommy's arm around his shoulder and pulls him up, and they stumble back inside. 

Tommy doesn't expect to sleep, but his body betrays him, he's too exhausted. As soon as his head hits the pillow, he's out. Dream approaches, looking incredibly guilty. Tubbo speaks before he has the chance to.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known he would panic."

"You, uh, heard?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry for eavesdropping. Well, okay, no I'm not."

"You okay?"

"I'm… not surprised."

He turns his head, confused.

"You're not?"

"No. I mean, it's not really like Schlatt to do anything nice for me without some kind of reason behind it."

That lies in the air for a minute. 

"Tubbo. Speaking of, I guess, I've been… I've heard some bad things about Manberg recently. About Schlatt." 

He turns to look at him, but Tubbos gaze is fixed on Tommy. He makes no effort to respond.

"And I just… I'm so, so sorry, Tubbo. If I had known half of the things I do now… Believe me, I would have stepped in. I am- I'm _not_ okay with that. You have no idea how much I regret it."

Tubbo shoves down the lump that has suddenly appeared in his throat.

"Thank you Dream. That means a lot."

"I'm going to make it up to you." He says, intensity burning in his tone. Tubbo turns to look at him, but whatever expression he has on is hidden behind his mask.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"I think I'm gonna go to sleep now." He replies, barely above a whisper. 

Dream left without a word, and Tubbo let the weird comment go. They guy probably hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days, he has every right to act off. Tubbo didn't expect to sleep himself, so he stayed with Tommy. Despite his preparedness for an all nighter, he doesn't realize that his friend's breathing is lulling him to sleep until he's already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop sorry this one is shorter, it was actually going to be part of a longer chapter but I decided it would work better split up
> 
> I'm also happy bc I think I have a pretty solid idea of where I want this fic to go now >:] POGchamp


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No particular CW for this chapter, except mild swearing

Dream wakes up last of the three, sleeping for an impressive 10, almost 11 hours. He eventually drags himself out of bed and heads to look for Tubbo and Tommy. He doesn't look for long, they're chilling in the kitchen chatting when they notice him.

"Hey! Big man!" Tubbo greets. 

"Have you finally woken? Jeez, man, you sleep like the dead. I was gonna draw penises on you, but Tubbo said no." 

"That's true, I did."

Dream chuckles, "Good morning to you guys, too."

Tubbo gives him something for breakfast, and he eats in a casual silence. Tommy, however, is not casual, and is staring intently at Dream. It takes him a second to notice, but when he does, he asks

"Uh, you okay?"

"Are you done eating?" He blurts in response. 

"What?"

"Tubbo said I should- ow, hey, don't smack me you idiot! That it would be rude of me to interrogate you before you've even had breakfast. Are you done eating?" 

"It doesn't count if you _ask_ him!"

"WELL WHY NOT-"

Dream smiles as they begin to banter back and forth. 

"Guys, guys! Yeah I'm done, I guess. Shoot."

Tommy's attention turns abruptly from Tubbo to Dream. This lack of a confirmation appears to have been all that was holding him back, because he's asking at full volume.

"HOW ON EARTH DID YOU FIND US? SERIOUSLY DUDE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU? DID YOU PUT TRACKERS ON US, IS THAT IT? BECAUSE I SWEAR TO GOD DREAM IF YOU'VE PUT A TRACKER ON ME I WILL-" 

Dream laughs again, wholeheartedly this time, and can't seem to stop himself. Tommy is still going.

"WHERE'S THE BLOODY TRACKER? IS IT IN MY ARM? OH, GOD, YOU PUT A TRACKER ON TUBBO? TUBBO YOU POOR MAN..."

Dream continues to laugh quite hysterically at Tommy, now checking a confused Tubbo all over for any tracking equipment, all while continuing to rant. Eventually, thankfully, he runs out of steam enough for Dream to talk.

"Okay, okay." He says, " _No,_ I didn't track you. What the- why, where did that even come from? Honestly though? It was luck, so, so much of it. I had no idea what direction you guys went in, anything. You could have been right below my feet for all I knew. But I continued looking anyway. I mean, I just… I needed to see you guys. I went in a few directions, north, east, looking for any sign of you. Eventually… I found it. Once I had a direction it was easier to keep going."

"What did you find?" Tubbo asks. Dream smiles sheepishly as he says,

"Which one of you fell into a cave?"

There is the briefest pause before Tubbo is laughing like a madman, and Tommy is screaming.

"AKDHAJF DREAM- DREAM DID YOU-"

"IT WAS TOMMY! TOMMY FELL!"

"OH YOU SEE BLOOD IN THE WOODS AND YOU JUST _AUTOMATICALLY-"_

"HE THOUGHT HE COULD MAKE IT FROM THIS ONE ROCK TO-"

"WHY- HOW DID YOU KNOW IT WAS MINE? DID YOU SEE IT AND THINK _THIS.. IS BIG MAN BLOOD_ HUH?"

Dream is laughing hysterically again at the direction his question had taken. In between wheezes he exclaims,

" _Tommy you're an idiot!_ "

Tommy is leaping across the table and grabbing his shirt and shoving him down, and they're wrestling around the floor, laughing the whole way. 

\-------------------

If Tommy had his way, he would have challenged Dream to an instant rematch, but Dream insisted he wanted to go and shower, that it had been days of straight travel and he needed it. He ruffles Tommy's hair as a goodbye and leaves. Tommy is still bursting with energy, and Tubbo suggests they go outside and do something to burn it off. They end up in their farm, harvesting crops.

"If I ever fought Dream for real though, he would totally lose."

"You think?" Tubbo asks incredulously.

"Oh absolutely! I am the superior man! Well, he's not out of the woods yet though I suppose. There's still a change I fight him if he won't tell us what's been going on in Pogtopia!!"

Tubbo is completely sidelined by that, "Wh- what?"

"What?"

Tubbo's brows knit together as he gives Tommy a concerned look.

"I thought we came out here to… to forget all of that stuff."

"Well- we need to keep updated, if we can right? What if they decided to look for us! We'd need to know that."

"I guess… but what does that have to do with Pogtopia?"

"Well, um-"

Tommy doesn't quite know how to respond. All of the answers he starts to form fail him. While he struggles, Tubbo asks

"Are you… still worried about Wilbur?"

Suddenly, Tommy is very invested in one specific carrot. Tubbo begins to think he's not going to answer him when,

"I guess… I want to know he's okay, at least. Tubbo, you didn't see him much before we left. He's- he's very… wrong." 

"You can't feel responsible for him."

"I know that."

"Do you? Because if I know you, and I kinda do, you're going to keep fixating on it, driving yourself mad."

Tommy doesn't offer a rebuttal, so they work in silence.

"How do you do it?" Tommy asks quietly, somberly. 

"What?"

"Let go of it all so easily? I mean, we _fought_ for that place, you know?"

Tubbo smiles softly at him.

"Yeah, well, s'not so hard when you brought the only _good_ thing with you."

It takes Tommy a second to register what was said, but when he does, he's turning red.

"That's lame Tubbo…" He mutters. This causes Tubbo to start to laugh.

"DON'T LAUGH AT ME YOU SHORT LITTLE SHIT, I'LL FIGHT YOU AS WELL-"

Tubbos laughs don't die down as he ducks and dodges Tommy's attempts to grab him, and they continue as he's chased into the woods. 

"MY LEGS ARE LONGER YOU IDIOT I'M 6' 4" GET- GET OVER HERE!"

He gets Tubbo in a headlock, and Tubbo is flailing and laughing.

"HAHA- CUT IT OUT!"

Meanwhile Dream, hearing yelling from inside, grabs the first weapon his hands touch and hes _running_. What- who could have gotten to them?? He speeds towards them, but instead of combat finds them wrestling each other in a clearing. It's a much more even match than his from this morning and Tubbo appears to be gaining the upper hand. Dream finds himself letting out a sigh of relief. The weight that's lifted off him to see them like this, not just safe but happy, carefree, it's immense. This was how kids their age should be, he tthinks. A decision is made in his head. He knows one thing, watching them play, he was willing to do anything to keep them this way. 

\---------

In recent defeat, Tubbo goes inside, but Tommy tells him he's going to finish the carrots. Not simply to be productive, though, it leaves him in peace to think. Generally, Tommy didn't like to think of Wilbur. He avoided it if possible, but he allows himself to now. He supposes he should be angry with him for abandoning their ideals, but he's not, not really. It's not entirely his fault, he supposes. The whole ordeal was definitely reason enough for a once good man to snap. He is sad for him, though. He wonders how he took Tommy's leave. Would it be a wake up call for him? Or... would it drive him further into madness? If Tommy could see him now, what would he say? 

He realized that he'd been done with carrots for a few minutes, that he had just been sitting and staring into space. He quickly gets up and heads inside. 

He's surprised to find Dream, gathering things together.

"Oh, what, are you… you leaving? So soon?" He asks.

"I have to get back soon." He says, oddly cold. 

"Are you okay? You sound weird"

"I just… need to be back. Soon." 

Tommy is growing suspicious by his tone. He doesn't imagine anything good coming from it. "What are you going to do?"

"Fix things. I need to _fix things_." He says, letting desperation leak into his voice, before abruptly turning his back on Tommy and continuing to pack. 

"Dream? Dream, please, promise me you aren't planning on doing anything dumb."

"Dumb? Tommy, please. I already have done something dumb."

"Dream…?" But he doesn't hear him, he keeps going as if Tommy hadn't spoke.

"It was dumb of me to pretend like I could just… what, step back and just let things work themselves out? So stupid… I allowed… I sat by and did _nothing_ while-" His voice breaks and he turns away. 

"I'm going _now_. I'm fixing things." He picks up his bags and turns-

" _Dream wait-_ " He grabs onto his sleeve and pulls. Dream stops.

"Dream… Dream, promise me something…" He pleads. 

"What?" Dream asks in confirmation.

 _What?_ What does Tommy want? His mind flickers through possibilities, Wilbur, Tubbo, but what he settles on is,

" _Come back?_ " 

Dream is silent for a moment, lost in his thoughts. 

"One week. I'll see you in one week, Tommy, okay?"

He's suddenly pulling Tommy into a rib-crushing hug, but before Tommy can return it, he's gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is messy messy messy but its okay, here you go :D
> 
> Tommy: How shall I respond to people loving me?  
> Tommy: FIGHT ME!!!!!!!!
> 
> I've also been working on a prequel oneshot for this fic if anyone is interested 👉👈🥺, its of Tubbo in Manberg
> 
> Edit: The oneshot is posted :D


	8. Chapter 8

Tubbo was grumpy that he didn't get to say goodbye to Dream, and pouts over it throughout dinner. Tommy can't pay much attention to it though, he's completely absorbed by his conversation with Dream, his conversation with Tubbo, Wilbur, everything. He says little that night, turns in early and wakes up the next morning before the sun. As Tubbo sleeps, Tommy goes straight into the mines, scarcely pausing to scratch a note explaining his absence. Tubbo wakes up and upon reading it, he’s a little concerned, but tries to go about his day like normal. Hours tick by, the sun glides along the sky, and Tommy is still out. Tubbo has to resort to tending to his bees to calm himself. He's giving it about five minutes before he plans on charging into the mines with a bee army to save Tommy's life when a red and white figure pops up in the distance. 

"Tommy! Jeez man, you were out long!" 

Tommy brushes past him to throw ores into furnaces, stone into chests, unloading his bag. 

"Oh, yeah, I guess I was." He says absentmindedly. He feels like he hadn’t even noticed the sun’s setting. That's what's good about mining, it's repetitive. If you've done it for one hour you've done it for ten. It's why Tommy chose it.

Tubbo's unease increases at the disinterest in his voice. 

"Did you uh, find anything cool? Fight any monsters?" He asks, trying to bait him into conversation. 

"Nah, nothing too cool. I think I'm off to bed now, mate, seeya." He says, he gives Tubbo a one armed hug as a goodbye and ascends the stairs. 

The odd behavior continued the next day, and the day after. Tubbo didn't know which he hated worse, his long stretches of absences, finding iron they didn't need, diamonds they didn't use, or the stifling silence of when he was home. A quiet Tommy was not something Tubbo knew how to deal with, as he didn't even think it was _possible_ . Tommy just… sits, mind far far away, and he doesn't come back for hours. It’s clear _something_ happened with him, but Tubbo tries to go about like normal. He knows that pushing Tommy usually doesn’t yield any positive results, but if he's given space, it's usually only a matter of time before he's willing to talk about it to Tubbo. Usually. Knowing this, Tubbo waits for him. He waits with burning impatience, but he waits. 

The next day, the pattern breaks. He returns home that night not with stone and iron, but with dripping wet hair and a bag full of ink sacs. Tubbo watches from a distance as he sits at a desk and writes. He writes, rips the paper out of the book, and begins again. And again. And again. Whatever he's trying to say isn't working, but he's Tommy, so he keeps going. He's still at it when Tubbo drifts off into sleep.

When he wakes, he notices two things. Tommy, slumped over, asleep at the desk, and the huge pile of discarded paper. Tubbo doesn't want him to mess up his back any more than his awful posture already does, so he gently places his arms around his shoulders and legs and _pulls_! Tommy, thankfully, continues snoring away as he’s half-carried half-dragged into bed. 

Tommy safely asleep, Tubbo is left with the letters. He _told_ himself he was going to wait, that he wouldn’t pry, but the temptation of reading Tommy’s thoughts is too great when they’re _written right there_. He grabs a random discarded letter and straightens it out, and reads. It's tougher than usual, with the paper being crinkled, but he makes out 

_Wilbur,_

_I hope this letter_ _~~actually gets to you~~ _ _finds you safe. I'm sorry I left without saying anything,_ ~~_I didn't think I c_~~ _but we were in a bit of a hurry, you know._

That's all it said before it was ripped. He reaches for another one, this one more destroyed than the last. The only part still legible was,

_Wilbur,_

_Why couldn't_ _~~you have~~ _ _things have stayed the same? Why did everything have to get bad? I probably sound stupid right now, but we were happy, man._ _~~We could have stayed happy, if we stuck togeth~~ _

Tubbo feels the temperature in the room drop as he pieces it together, why Tommy was acting this way. He knew it was a possibility, but he never really thought…

Tubbo feels his throat closing and tears threatening him, so he goes outside. If he does cry, he sure as hell doesn’t want to risk Tommy hearing it. The first thing his eyes find is the parkour course, he beelines for it. He climbs the ladder and jumps. He misses the third platform and falls in the water, soaking his clothes, but he climbs back up still. He tries again, he makes it almost to the end before falling. He repeats his mistake the next time. His body starts to shudder in the cold, the seasons were quickly changing around them, so it really wasn’t the time to be jumping around soaking wet. Tubbo ignores it, he focuses only on perfecting his time, not on anything else. Just one jump after the other. He does this until his peripheral sees a light flicker on in the house, _Tommy waking_ , and he completely misses the jump and faceplants into the water. 

He sits in his failed attempt, unsure. He doesn’t want to have this conversation, but if he learned anything at Manberg, it was that it’s always better to rip the band aid off. He sighs and lifts himself up. As he walks inside, sees Tommy smile at him with a mouthful of breakfast and wave good morning. His heart gives a painful twist.

Oh, well, a little delay never hurt anyone _too_ bad. He turns to go find a change of clothes.

He feels slightly better in a new, dry green shirt, but then almost immediately crashes right into Tommy as he swings open the door.

“WHOA- shit, sorry man. I was just coming to find you!” He says. Tubbo feels himself deflate.

“Yeah, I was looking for you too…” He says. Tommy doesn’t notice how sad Tubbo sounds to have found him,

“I just wanted to say-” but Tubbo interrupts him,

“Wait. Just- let me go first. I. I already know, Tommy.” He admits. He continues straight past Tommy's confused expression.

“Tommy… I. I care about you, you know? You, you're my best friend. I care about you too much to… to make you stay here if you don’t want to. You don't need to feel bad, I mean, what we’ve set up? I’m safe here. I’ll be okay, seriously.”

Tommy feels like he's lagging behind this conversation, did he miss something?? _What did Tubbo just say?_

“Tubbo, _what-”_

Tubbo once again, doesn’t let him finish. Tubbo looks up at him, trying to bleed sincerity into his words, trying _just convince_ him,

“I’m telling you, Tommy. It’s okay. You can go. You know I- I’ll miss you of course, bu-” He pauses as his voice breaks, gritting his teeth to fight off tears, but his train of thought is stopped when Tommy is grabbing his shoulders and lightly shaking him..

“ _TUBBO. WHAT. ARE YOU. TALKING. ABOUT!?_ ”

 _“WILBUR!_ ’ He cries, suddenly overcome with the tears he had been holding back. 

“I know you miss him! I- I shouldn’t have forced you to leave him if you didn’t want to! I know you wachaskgheudngf” His words are muffled as Tommy presses a hand over his mouth.

“Tubbo. Oh my God. Stop- stop talking. You are making no sense. Did Dream give you drugs? Jeez- oh my God. I don’t even- Tubbo _I'm not leaving_. Okay? So stop saying that. Nod if you’re never going to say that again, because I’m not letting you go if you don't.” Tubbo does nod, and he’s free. He wipes tears from his face as Tommy continues. 

“Tubbo, God, I _am not_ leaving you, okay? I don't- I would never even _want_ to.”

Tubbo sniffles, and asks, “Really?”

How does he make Tubbo _understand_? How does he explain that the idea of anything putting Tubbo in danger is enough to make him terrified, that the thought of losing him is the stuff from his worst nightmares, the only ones that can still make him burst awake screaming. Tommy lowers his voice, as if he doesn't want to be overheard, even though they're alone, and what he comes up with is,

“Tubbo, that’s- God, I can't believe I'm saying this, I _couldn’t_ be without you, okay? Nothing in this world could ever make me leave you. _Not again_. Seriously.” 

At normal volume now, “But you never heard any of that."

Tubbo smiles, "I did, though."

"I will kick your ass Tubbo." 

He laughs weakly, "Fine, fine. But… what about Wilbur? All that stuff you wrote…"

"You know what I realized last night, err… more like this morning, I guess. I was trying… I guess I was trying to apologize to him. For what I could have done more to help… which is silly, because I've never done anything wrong you know. But I just… sort of realized, what _could_ I have done?"

"I keep _telling_ you that." 

" _IT'S DIFFERENT TUBBO_ "

"IT'S NOT THOUGH! I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU THIS SINCE-"

"TUBBO SHUT UP OKAY I'M TRYING TO EXPLAIN-"

"FINE FINE FINe fine, okay? I'm listening." He concedes, hands up in mock surrender.

"I kind of realized that, whatever happened, it's… it would have happened anyway, I think. And yeah, okay, I guess you MAY have tried to tell me that. But it's different hearing it and… believing it, I guess." 

Tubbo understands that. _God,_ does he. 

“So I was coming to apologize. I mean, I wasn’t, because I’ve never done anything wrong. But hypothetically, if I _was_ … kind of… being a dick to you the last few days, ignoring you or whatever, I would _hypothetically_ want to apologize.”

“Hypothetically, it’s okay, man.”

“Good.”

The conversation and the relief that he was wrong made Tubbo feel much better. After his awful morning, he honestly wanted nothing more from the day but to relax with his friend, which Tommy gladly agreed to. Tommy’s obsessive mining put them ahead of the curve anyway, they could afford a day off, really. However Tommy, ever vigilant, leaped up in full alertness when they began to hear a disturbance outside.

"Tommy come onnn, it's an animal." Tubbo complained, but was immediately disproved by a knock at the door. 

“Nevermind, It’s Dream!” Tubbo exclaims. His day gets better! He wonders if he could beat Dream at their parkour course, if he’d be interested in competing. 

“He’s early…” Tommy said, shooting the door a puzzled look. Tubbo trails behind him as he moves towards the entrance, swings open the door. Tommy jerks back almost as quickly as he opened it, with an expression of absolute horror. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said I had a plan for the ending of this fic? that plan was scrapped, WERE FLYING BY THE SEAT OF OUR PANTS BOYS  
> I'm kidding, I do have a new plan. I am a little less sure of it but it works much better!
> 
> OoOoOOoOooOh wHo'S aT tHE dOoR? (sorry for the minor cliffhanger guys...)  
> (no I'm not)
> 
> Edit: AAAH You guys are driving me crazy in the comments with your theories because I'm like I WANT TO TELL YOU BUT SPOILERRRS!!! I love you all dearly, pls be patient haha, I'm prepping next chapter to be a long one >:)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW on this chapter for:  
> violence, character death, mentions of past abuse, swearing

**Dream**

Even though Dream had only ever made the journey once, he had no problem retracing his steps back into the direction of Manberg. He, unlike the boys when they had journeyed, had nothing to distract him, he moved through the forest with the skill and speed of a hunter. The hostile mobs unfortunate enough to cross him were often dead before they even fully registered he was there. and the passive ones should have been grateful he had his own food. He makes camp only once throughout his trip, if you could even call it that. He places a single furnace, enough to cook himself a steak, and sits down just long enough to eat it. Then he's off again. Dream had no interest in sleep, either, and so it was only a matter of time until he was beginning to recognize landmarks marking his proximity to familiar territory. He reaches the infamous swamp, and though he knows he's on a time crunch, he can't stop himself from doing a quick double check at the cave Tommy fell in. It was just as he left it, empty of any signs of humans. It was relief to him, that no one would find them the same way he did _._

He moves on, passing the swamp as quickly as he did the other biomes. His surroundings change again until he's surrounded by spruce, marking the last leg of the journey. He begins to pick up abnormal sounds coming from the south, not sounds of the forest, not mobs or animals or anything. The closer he gets, he recognizes the sounds as people, but can't make out who. This causes him to pause, to consider. 

He was close now, to his goal. In all likelihood, it would be done by the end of the day. He needs to think, to be strategic, what would make this all go smoother? 

He decides to move closer, to see who he's stumbled upon, at the very least. He gains altitude on them, climbs a tree and moves along the treetops. He finally makes out Wilbur, chatting absentmindedly as he chops wood, oblivious. He was not the only person here, though, someone below him shifts, he hears a click, _a crossbow-_

He's ducking down flat on a branch as an arrow whizzes by him, just narrowly missing his side. Dream leaps down from his tree, sword drawn, ready-

Technoblade's smiling lazily at him, managing to look _almost_ amused by Dream's appearance. 

"Ah, Dream! I should have known. No one else can get that close to me without me knowin'." 

Wilbur whirls around, shocked, apparently, not having known anything was amiss. He gets over it quickly, though. No one should ever really be _too_ surprised that Dream sneaks up on them.

"Hello, Dream. What brings you here?" He greets.

Dream considers them. If he _could_ get them on his side, it would certainly help. No, strike that, it would make his goal near _impossible_ to fail. He weighs that against the risk of them saying no. Even if they did… No, he can't imagine they'd try and stop him. Decision made. 

"I'm going to Manberg. I'm going to kill Schlatt. Can you help me?" 

He waits a second for them to process his statement. Almost simultaneously, Techno shrugs, and Wilbur begins to chuckle to himself. It quickly devolves into hysterics, he's shrieking, scaring away all the animals. Dream shifts uncomfortably at the outburst, but Techno ignores it. Wilbur eventually wheezes out,

"Oh _DREAM!_ Wha- certainly _YOU_ of all people know- That won't fix things!"

Dream's expression turns dark,

"I don't expect it to. I only expect it to fix the fact that he's alive."

"Jeez, Dream, what did Schlatt do to you?" Technoblade mutters, only half jokingly.

"Does it matter?" He asks.

Techno gives him a strange look, but Wilbur's interrupts,

"You know what? _No_ ! No it doesn't! We're with you, Dream! _Lead the fucking way!_ Of course, you wouldn't mind if we dropped off the wood we've gathered, would you?"

He asks, innocently enough.

"It won't take long, will it?" Dream asks.

" _Oh, no!_ Not at all, it's on the way!" 

Dream says nothing as a response, but they're moving now, so it must be an agreement. _Well_ , Techno thinks _, this might as well happen_. It was more interesting than chopping wood. 

When they arrived at Pogtopia, Dream and Techno wait aboveground as Wilbur runs down to dump the wood into a chest. As they stand there, Techno's curiosity gets the better of him.

"So… why _are_ you doing this now? Wilbur's right, you know, for once, this isn't gonna 'save Manberg', or anything."

"Pft. I don't care about Manberg, or Pogtopia, really. No offense."

"None taken."

Definitely not, in fact, Techno mirrored the sentiment.

"But… you obviously care about _something…_ " He leads. Dream continues to stare stoically at the treeline, giving him nothing. Techno about gives up on the conversation when Dream says,

"Look- I mean this nicely, Technoblade, I really do. But I don't expect you to understand."

What! This piques Techno's curiosity even worse than if he'd said nothing!

"Try me."

The challenge gets a small smirk out of him. He considers it for a second, and the amusement disappears. The silent storming anger from before returns, as he asks,

"Do you… have lines? Lines you don't cross, people you just don't hurt, no matter the circumstances?"

"Dream if you're asking if I'm sexist, let me tell you, I am an equal opportunity Technoblade, okay?"

"No, I mean… Imagine that someone horrible, something _so beyond crossed the line_ happened. And you find out… that it happened because of you. You _allowed_ it to happen. You-"

"Back!" Wilbur announces, causing them both to jump. "Sorry it took me a while, I, uh, had to organize." He says. Techno notes he looks slightly riled up, though. He's got another weird look in his eyes. Dream either doesn't notice or doesn't care. 

"No problem, let's go." He responds, eager to get moving. And they're marching back towards Manberg, Techno and Wilbur in tow. 

\--------

As Dream had traversed the forest, making his way here, he had planned out how he would do this, how he would get in, how he would sneak into the main building undetected, how he would distract any guards or colleagues if needed to get him alone. With the addition of Techno and Wilbur, his plans were unnecessary. Getting to him was going to be beyond simple. The only semblance of an issue they encountered as they entered Manberg was Nikki and Quackity, walking and speaking to each other in hushed voices. The group hid as they walked by, and they encountered no one else. Locating Schlatt was slightly more of a problem, he could have realistically been anywhere, and it wasn't like any of them had any knowledge of the usual goings on of Manberg. Wilbur and Techno led Dream to a few different rooms Tubbo had told them about in his time as a spy, but so far, nothing. After a bit of going from place to potential place and finding no one, they finally land on their last option, a study/ office space, below ground. They descend creaky stairs as silently as they were able, and hear motion from inside as they approach. A page turning, a pen scratching. _Bullseye._ Wilbur turns back to Dream, awaiting his decision, and he waves them forward. Dream straightens himself up, steeles his nerves as best he was able, and walks into the room. 

Schlatt's face is a perfect snapshot of confusion when they walk in, but quickly changes to a scowl.

"Dream, what- oh my god, who let _that_ in?" He asks, referring to Wilbur. Dream doesn't look at Wilbur's response, but he feels him tense behind him. Wilbur doesn't move, thankfully, per Dreams instructions. He told them before, he _insisted_ , Dream needed to be the one to do it, and he needed to do it alone. They were just to watch for people coming, and wait.

Dream doesn't let him say anything further, draws his sword, and advances on him.

"Dream- wha-"

In one swift movement, Dream's on him, holding him down, sword to his neck. 

Wil and Techno fade away, in Dream's mind, it's just them. Him and his enemy, his target. He told himself he was going to do it quickly, efficiently, without emotion, exactly like he's killed before. He's in the exact position to do so. But he doesn't understand why… his hands are shaking, tears are forming in his eyes, threatening to overwhelm him. It's just… it's all… _overcoming_ him, every feeling he's been trying to repress. He's violently reminded of the conversation where he found it all out, of all the times before when he believed Tubbo's lies. He remembers Tubbo jumping at every sound, flinching. He remembers, and he's so, so _angry_ . Not only at the monster beneath his blade, at himself. He's been sick to his stomach with this _guilt_ for weeks, and he feels all of it roar inside of him now. 

"I let you live, Schlatt." He says, carefully, slowly. 

"I let you _live._ And with that life… you hurt people."

"I- Dream, there are- I don't know what you heard, but-" He's trying to sound convincing, but it's a bit difficult to be calm with a blade to your throat, even for a smooth talker like him. His attempt to deflect makes Dream's anger flare. He knows he shouldn't, but it's all spilling out of him,

"No, _no!_ You don't get to sit here and deny it. Act like you're some _great guy_ . _I fucking know, Schlatt._ And so do other people! How the fuck do you think I found out!?"

"What?!" Schlatt demands, temporarily, the shock overrides his fear,

"Yeah, _yeah. You fucking bastard!_ " 

"I- Dream, look, this is a misunderstanding." He says, voice turning sickly sweet, trying to convince him. It's his charismatic voice, the one he puts on for speeches, events, the voice of a perfect politician. It's but shaky now, circumstances provided, but Dream can tell he's trying to lay it on, and he's not buying it one fucking bit. 

"Let's just talk about thi-"

" _NO!_ " Dream yells. He's having none of it.

"No talking, no _weaseling your way out_ this time!"

Dreams voice drops low, he wants only Schlatt to hear this.

"You kept him around to just taunt them, Tommy and Wilbur."

"So?" Schlatt scoffs. "That's politics."

"You acted like he was your right hand man. Like he was your closest confidant. He wasn't, though was he? He was just some dumb kid, right? Some dumb annoying kid who was _in with the enemy_. And now he's your responsibility? Must have been annoying, am I right?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." He warns, but Dream just scoffs,

" _I'm not afraid of you Schlatt_. You probably want me to be, just like everyone else on your stupid cabinet. _But I'm not._ _He was just a kid, man._ "

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Schlatt roars, flailing in a renewed effort to escape Dream's grip. Technoblade appears, grabbing him in a move that subdues him.

" _HE WAS A FUCKING KID!_ " Dream screams. 

"You don't- you don't _do that_ to kids, you-" His voice goes unsteady, he stops himself, tries to breathe. He needs to breathe.

He forces air into his lungs, and out. His hands steady.

 _What was he doing?_ What was he even hoping to get out of this? A shred of guilt, an apology? He knew those were both unlikely. No, what he really wanted was to go back in time, to never have given this man power, to never have allowed him to hurt anyone _with_ that power.

Dream couldn't do that, though. But what he could do is take away his power _now_ . To ensure that what happened to Tubbo in this cursed fucking building never _ever_ repeated itself. He felt that now, that ability to stop the evil was right there, in his hands. Dream had nothing more to say, there was nothing more to do, except… 

A swift movement later, Schlatt's body falls to the floor. 

It's over.

\----------

Before anyone can properly react, Wilbur steps forward, smiling. That same _look_ in his eyes as before, Techno notices.

"Oh, man, you know, I didn't expect that to be as _satisfying_ as it was! But wow, yeah, fuck you, Schlatt. Rot in hell."

"We should go." Dream says, emotionless.

"Oh, Dream, but why go now? The fun's hardly just started!"

"We did what we came here to do." He says.

Wilbur laughs.

" _You_ did, didn't you? But you know, I'm not quite finished myself." He moves to grab something from his bag, something red… TNT? Dream rushes forward and grabs his arm. 

"Wilbur, what the hell?" He asks. 

"Come on Dream, it's time! Let's do it tonight! Who's going to stop us? Manberg's feared leader is _dead!_ We have _Dream and Technoblade_ on our side, we're unstoppable! LET'S BURN THIS PLACE TO THE FUCKING GROUND!" He enthuses. Dream only looks on, horrified.

"No, Wilbur. Look, I don't care how you feel about Manerg, okay? People live here now, innocent people."

Wilbur's expression changes to a glare.

"What- _You_ gave me this, Dream. _You_ said-"

" _I changed my fucking mind, okay?"_ Dream snaps, releasing Wilbur's arm in a rage. He _knows_ what he said, but God, it feels like a lifetime ago. Dream wasn't even sure he would recognize that person anymore. He takes a second, re steadies his breath.

"I know you're angry, Wil. I know how you feel. But.. I can't let people get hurt anymore." He admits, finally.

Wilbur gives him a guarded look, then,

"Okay, Dream, fine. I understand." He says. 

"Take it back, then. Here." He reaches down for his bag, to get the TNT. Dream breathes a sigh of relief. He had remedied one mistake tonight, he didn't need to make another one. He goes to meet Wilbur halfway. Then, Wilbur's _punching_ him in his side, and he's thrown off balance. Wilbur bolts out of the room, maniacal laugh getting further and further with each step. Dream feels the icy cold of adrenaline fill his system, and starts to run after him, _the fucking bastard_ . Then- oh- _oh my fucking god._ His side is _burning_. He notices that he's on the ground now, no recollection of getting there. He sees blood. Techno is above him. 

" _GO! STOP HIM!_ " He shrieks to Techno. _Wilbur is getting away_ . _He has TNT, HE'S GOING TO USE IT._

"TECHNOBLADE! G-"

"He stabbed you. You need a doctor or something."

" _I DON'T FUCKING CARE, GET WILBUR!_ "

Technoblade was fairly sure Dream would die without help, and Wilbur was getting away. He obviously couldn't get to both, but surprisingly, it's hardly a decision he needs to think about. He grabs Dream and tries to help him get up, but he's pushed off.

"GET OFF OF ME- TECHNO, GO GET WILBUR!"

Techno grabs him again, gets him up this time without jostling him too much. Dream screams and swears at him, but he's in no condition to really fight back. He gets up the stairs without too much trouble, and Techno carries him outside Manberg, in the direction of Pogtopia. Dream's protests die down somewhat as pain and maybe shock sets in.

"Sorry, gotta keep the sword in. You know how it is."

"Wilbur…"

"He'll be fine on his own. You won't." 

" _Wilbur!_ " 

"I know, Dream, I was there, you don't have to remind me."

Dream seethes in silence, enraged at how _stupid_ Techno was being, but knowing he couldn't really stop him. They stumble through the night, and eventually end up back at the Pogtopia's entrance, but Dream refuses to even stop there. He spurs Techno on,

"Keep going, east for now, I'll tell you when to strife north." 

"You know, my intention here is to have you live, not just move you to die in the middle of the forest."

"Not- _fuck-_ " He hisses in pain, "Not forest. To Tommy, Tubbo."

Techno is unfazed, as long as Dream _has_ a destination, he doesn't really care. The revelation of Tommy and Tubbo's fate doesn't surprise him.

For anyone else, the walk with an injured party would have been at a gruellingly slow pace, but he's Technoblade, and he manages to dance through the woods with speed and balance Dream on top of it. He's not as lithe as him, Dream notes, he's loud, animals fleeing with every snap of the branches under his feet. What he lacks in grace he makes up for in power and raw skill. He climbs ridges Dream would have avoided _unburdened_ with another person, hands and feet finding purchase where there really shouldn't be any.

As they reach the swamp, Technoblade puts down a boat, and Dream gets to lay down in the back of it. The relief of laying down floods him immediately. 

"Don't pass out."

"I'll try." Dream responds weakly. Ugh, it's not a situation Techno ever wanted to be in, but Dream needed to stay awake, and if he wanted that to happen, they needed to… _talk_.

"Speak. Say something to stay awake." He orders.

"Like?"

"I don't care, dude. Uh, what're Tommy and Tubbo doing nowadays?"

A smile breaks through his face. 

"They're happy. They've got everything they'll ever need."

There's another silence, and Techno is trying to think of another prompt when Dream continues.

"Healing. They're healing, I think. If anyone deserves it, it's them."

Technoblade had a hard time imagining that. He could see it for Tubbo, he guesses, growing out of the shell that Manberg had forced him into. But Tommy's annoying ass? Techno imagined he would start war with the air if he could, no?

A memory comes to him, then, countering his thought process. The one and only time Techno recalls ever seeing beyond Tommy's boisterous exterior. It was late, but Techno wasn't sleeping. Wilbur and Tommy return from a meeting with Tubbo, Wilbur left to immediately go to plan, like he always did. Tommy didn't follow him this time. He looks him, no smile on his face, saying nothing, just staring blankly. Techno gives him back a questioning look, and he sighs. 

"I miss him." He says. It's so simple, but his voice is so soaked in pain. He disappears to his room, and by the morning, is back to being annoying. Techno almost forgot about it.

 _Healing_. It never registered as something the kid needed, but, well… Tommy was just that good at hiding it, he supposes. 

The swamp ends, they continue. Dream's guided directions getting fewer and further apart as time went on, his answers shorter and shorter. It's concerning, Techno scrambles to find things to say, he's reminded of their conversation at Pogtopia. 

"Dream."

"Mm?"

"Y'know… you remember what you asked me?"

"Yea"

"You're right. I don't, well, I don't really understand. I'm not a… not a big morals guy. But what you did? I support it."

"Thans Technoblade …" He says. It was slurred, but hey, it was an answer.

"You know, I don't really uh, think about who gets hurt in war? Not my… not my usual… thing. But hey, man, kids? That's lame."

Dream's face contorts, whether in physical or emotional pain, Techno doesn't know. 

"Wasn't even… wasn't even war, yknow? Just… for no reason… the fuck, right?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've wanted to backhand Tommy a few times, but I mean, he's Tommy. And it's not like I'm gonna go out of my way to be mean to the kid. Uh, or any kid, of course. That's what I'm tryin to say. Being mean to kids is dumb." He stumbles. Thankfully, the mountain ahead of them causes him to pause his conversation. _Finally, a challenge_ , he thinks as he prepares to ascend. He climbs as swiftly as he can, knowing Dream was getting worse and worse by the second, and when on top of the ridge, eyes a small home. At this point, he wouldn't care if it was Herobrine's. Dream didn't have time. He gets to the door, and pauses. Uh, what's the protocol here? He settles for knocking twice. A moment later, and Techno never thought he would be happy to see that stupid hair and ugly red and white shirt. Tommy stares back at him, though, very much not happily.

"Sup." Techno begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> U GUYS the comments on last chapter KILLED ME i was sitting there like I CANT SPOIL BUT AAAAAAAH.  
> I loved all your predictions tho 🥺 I hope you like how it actually turned out, and I hope you didn't mind the switch of POVs! I had a lot of fun writing Dream


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: mentions of blood, potentially gore

Technoblade stands awkwardly in the door, holding a bloodied and now fully unconscious Dream. The blood was all over, speckling their faces and limbs, but was to be concentrated on Dream's abdomen, which,  _ oh _ , Tommy sees has about half of a sword sticking out of it. 

"Sup." Techno says. Tommy and Tubbo just stand there, temporarily frozen in shock. Techno shifts uncomfortably. 

"Dream got stabbed." He adds. More silence. 

"He's, uh, also kinda heavy, so…? Can I… get some help here or…"

Tubbo's body moves, unfrozen by complete muscle memory. Autopilot mode, mind shuts off, body moves, body  _ works _ . One of the many survival skills learned in Manberg. He can't  _ trust _ letting his mind work right now, he just needs to be able to move, to move to Dream's other side, supporting him by propping his other arm over his shoulder, which he does. Dream lets out a grunt of pain as he does this, but then his head flops back down, unsupported. Back out of consciousness, if he even really came back in at all. Techno and Tubbo carry him into the bedroom and lay him down on a bed. Tommy rushes in behind them, finally released from total shock, now filled with panic. He hears him inhale sharply before the room explodes with noise.

" _ WHAT THE FUCK?? WHAT HAPPE- _ "

Tubbo spins on his heels to face Tommy and roughly grabs his shoulders before the scream can even finish. He gives him a look and almost imperceptibly shakes his head.  _ Not now. _ Whatever Tommy found in Tubbo's dead expression quiets him, right,  _ Tubbo was right. _ He needs to focus. Tubbo is speaking, sounding very much as monotone as Techno as he does,

"Pots, all that we have, need them. Then we need more. Nether wart, third chest from the stairs. With the poppy?" 

Tommy nods continuously, Techno is a little confused, but he doesn't question the fact that Tommy seems to understand his instructions perfectly. Tubbo releases him from his grip and Tommy is running to gather supplies. 

Tubbo faces Dream, thankfully, Techno had been busy while he was sending Tommy off. He cleared the area where the sword was sticking out. He hadn't done anything more though, he gives Tubbo a look that he would have called sheepish, if this were a different circumstance. 

"I don't, uh, know how to heal?" He says.

"Me neither, Technoblade."

They both hear the unspoken conclusion, they'll have to learn, then. Looking at Dream’ _ s  _ situation causes Tubbo to… pause. Oh, fuck, man, his stomach… is so red, the blood is everywhere, the fact that this was a  _ sword inside of a man _ dawns on him, oh my god, he feels nauseous...he-

_ NO!  _ He mentally chastises himself. His mind, threatening to come out of autopilot. He can't have that right now, he  _ shoves it down _ , and fortifies the mental walls keeping it there.

Tubbo was aware of the stress he was putting on his old Autopilot Method, he wasn't quite sure he could keep his mind from catching up with him long enough to  _ literally save a man's life _ , but it's all he has right now. He has to hope it's enough. Tommy returns to the room, dumps potions into Technoblade's hands, and leaves as quickly as he came. Tubbo sees his target immediately, and snatches the pink bottle from his hands.  _ Sterngth _ , the label reads, evident that Tubbo wrote it. It's not ideal, he knows, it won't actually help to  _ heal  _ him, but it's all they have. The rest of the pots are water breathings and invis, he knows. A plan forms in his head, a way to get the sword out, and seconds after, he tilts Dream's head back, and pours the mixture down his throat.

Dream's eyes flash open moments after, and he’s instantly providing a hitch in his plan. He's awake, yeah, but still confused, not knowing what's happening, and in pain, he begins to try and escape his situation. Tubbo is using all of his strength to hold him down, and still almost gets punched many times as he yells,

"TECHNOBLADE, SWORD! OUT?" Tubbo barks. Techno does not need further explanation, Tubbo blinks and the sword is clamoring on the floor. Dream's scream of pain causes them both to flinch, then he's limp again. Well, that was nice, but the sword’s removal now poses them a new problem. As Tubbo suspected, taking it out while he had Strength in him would give him the best survival chance, but now the wound was free to bleed.

"Pressure?!" Techno asks.

Tubbo was already on it, pressing cloth firmly to the place the sword had been seconds ago.

Tommy's scrambling footsteps and the clink of bottles announce his presence before words do. 

" _ Regen! _ " he exclaims. 

Tubbo furrows his brow as he turns to face him.

"Healing?" Tubbo asks between breaths.

"Not unless we have a melon, Technoblade, do you have a melon?"

"Why the absolute fuck would I have a melon on me, Tommy?" He counters, managing a small smile of amusement by the absurdity of the request.

But Tubbo cuts this banter before it can begin. "S'it Splash?"

"Yeah, I- we got gunpowder from that creeper last week."

Regeneration will have to work then. He waves his hand at Techno, who immediately backs away from Dream. He lifts the potion high and

_ splash! _

For one tense second, none of them dare breathe. Well, Technoblade breathes, and watches with a sort of interest, but Tommy and Tubbo are statue still. Then the magic takes effect, the blood slows. 

Tubbo allows himself to relax ever so slightly, but letting his shaky composure slip even a little breaks the whole facade. He falls to his knees, shaking, and feels Tommy immediately by his side. Tommy pulls him into a tight embrace, grounding him as he falls apart. What the fuck?  _ What the fuck??  _ The only thing keeping him from  _ screaming  _ is Tommy's constant voice, " _ You did so well Big Man! I'm so proud of you, Tubbo. It's going to be okay. _ " He allows himself to lean into Tommy, to accept the comfort. 

Techno, still standing, gives their shoulders a supportive pat. He really doesn't know what to do with himself now with two crying kids on the floor. He didn't really... make a plan for what he'd do when he got here, he just listened to Dream's directions when he was conscious enough to give them and tried not to get lost. Tommy and Tubbo were still on the floor, murmuring what must have been affirmations to each other. Weirdly, it felt too tender to watch, which was definitely not Tommy's usual style. Such plain concern and affection, right there on his face. He's reminded of what Dream said before,  _ healing _ . He's not quite sure how to feel about it.

Techno finds himself rambling to cope with his discomfort. 

"He, uh, should be okay, I think? He's not gonna die right now at least. I mean, it was close there a few times on the way, but look at that! He's alright! Probably." Techno says. Okay, not that helpful. It occurs to him that being in this room probably not… the most comforting thing for them right now, right? Maybe moving them will stop the, uh…  _ emotions. _

"Why don't we… uh… we should move from here. I mean, keep an eye on him sure, but, we don't need to  _ watch him sleep _ or anything. That's creepy shit." 

They make no audible reply, but they get up, and they all move into the other room. They kept the door open, but thankfully, being away from the situation was already making a visible difference. 

"What happened?" Tommy asks.

"He got stabbed." Techno responds.

"I-  _ yeah clearly! _ Who stabbed him! Why?! When- how did you even end up together? How did you get here? Wha-"

"That's like, 10 questions, Tommy. Which one do you want answered?" 

Tubbo interrupts in a small voice.

"Can you just tell us the story from the beginning, please?"

"See? That's  _ one  _ request." Techno could have jeered Tommy further, but considering Tubbo being all… freaked out, he just gets on with it.

"Well, I was with Wilbur, gettin wood. Then Dream appears, I almost shot him but I didn't. Wilbur's like, 'whatcha doin?' Dream says, 'I'm gonna kill Jschlatt.' I'm like, okay. Wilbur offers to help him break into Manberg and whatever. Dream agreed, I tagged along, uh, some other shit happened, he killed Schlatt. Then Wilbur stabbed him, then I brought him here” 

Tommy and Tubbo blurt their responses out at the same time.

“Schlatt is dead?” Tubbo whispers.

“Why the fuck would he do that?” Tommy asks.

Techno heard them both, and responded

“Yep, saw him die myself. And because he wanted to explode shit, and Dream told him not to. They argued about it, it was really dumb.”

Tubbo puts his shaky hands around his head, and his head between his knees. 

“Oh my-  _ fuck _ , I think I need to lay down. Or throw up. Not sure.” 

“Come on, you need rest Big Man, come. Techno, please tell me if Dream starts to die.”

Techno nods once and turns back into Dream's impromptu room, more or less relieved to be free of awkward conversations. 

Tubbo flops facedown on his bed so hard Tommy worried he would hit something, but he only lets out another shaky breath. Tommy goes to sit next to him.

"Are you alright, man?"

"I feel like I need to sleep for like. Ten years or something." 

"You should, man. I'll hold down the fort, make sure Techno doesn't plant any  _ potatoes _ or anything."

“I don’t mind potatoes.”

“Mm, you should. They’re not big man food. They’ll make you small.”

Tubbo lets out a weak laugh, much to Tommy’s relief. If he could make Tubbo laugh, things weren’t as terrible as they could be. 

"I… he’s dead, Tommy.” 

“Yeah, the madlad actually did it. Manberg, dethroned!” He makes dramatic hand motions as he says it, ~~hoping~~ _needing_ to hear more of Tubbo's laugh right now. He doesn't get it.

"What's going to happen now, d'you think?" He frets. Oh. Tommy had been trying to avoid that topic himself. Pondering it gives him the beginnings of a massive headache, so he decides to do what he's good at, joke about it.

"I bet Fundy will want everyone to wear animal ears." 

It gets a huff of air, akin to a laugh, but not exactly.

"Wha- how would he even enforce that?"

"He'd bark at everyone, probably"

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah, exactly. I mean, it wouldn't scare me enough to wear them, but I'm really tough, so…"

Tubbo gives a weak smile, and it encourages him to continue.

"And like, Badboyhalo will ban swearing. If you swear they burn down your house. That'll be his new rule."

"Mm. Must be-" a yawn cuts off his sentence "-must be why he made his house from quartz, yeah?"

"Oh yeah, this was his plan all along. And Eret, god, I don't know, maybe Eret'll put 'you matter' s everywhere. You'll have to have one at all times, or you get arrested. It's gonna be all wholesome n shit. Horrible, really. And maybe Nikki will bake things, I don't know." 

Tommy sits in silence for a minute, in between his silly predictions, until he realizes that Tubbo's eyes had closed, and he was solidly asleep. Tommy thinks that he should probably move, but he just doesn't think he could bear to go outside with Dream's unconscious body, Techno's ever unchanging relaxation about  _ everything,  _ and all the blood, the broken glass from the pots… So he stays with Tubbo, in their little bubble of calm. Somehow, he finds his eyes getting heavy soon as well, weighed down against his will by the exhaustion of the day. He lets himself fall asleep listening to Tubbo snore quietly.

Neither of them have nightmares that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter! We're nearing the end of what I had planned for this fic, Lmk what you guys think! :D
> 
> Edit: It's very likely I'm going to be temporarily shifting my focus to the prequel for this fic for now! I'm 100% not abandoning this fic!!! I'd like to establish a few plot things there before I continue on with the story here. Definitely check that one out if you want to keep up with the world :D They're in the same series, so you can just click the link right below this note, but if you need the name, its 'Tubbo's Mistakes"


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No particular chapter CWs

The next time Dream opened his eyes, he was able to actually recognize the room he was seeing, as well as the man absentmindedly throwing and catching his own axe in the corner. 

"You know…" he manages weaky, "you should be careful, it would have been a huge waste of time for you to drag me here just to kill me with a misplaced axe toss."

Techno doesn't bother to turn his head towards from his axe when he responds.

"Technoblade never misses." 

Dream's eyebrows raise in disbelief.

"Doesn't he? I recall you missing a few shots at me before."

"Do you...  _ want  _ an axe to the head, then?" Techno counters.

Dream tries to raise his arms in mock surrender, but whatever remark he had in mind as a response gets drowned by a hiss of pain.

"Uh, don't do that." Techno comments, unhelpfully.

"Ya, noted." Dream barks in response, still gritting his teeth as the pain subsides.

"I think we were gonna give you another strength potion when you woke up, but I'm not sure, and Tommy and Tubbo fell asleep so I can't really ask them."

Dream notices for the first time the pitch black darkness coming from outside, the only light illuminating them being torchlight, it appears it was night. 

"No, no, let them sleep," Dream says. He knew it was probably overkill, an overcompensation of sorts, but his conscience would never allow him to wake Tommy and Tubbo. He would rather sit here and suffer eternally than trouble them for anything, cause them any more problems, no matter how small. Killing Schlatt eased his guilty mind ever so slightly, knowing that that  _ particular  _ brand of evil could never strike again, but he still knew deep down that… he owed them a lot more. Dream  _ himself _ , whether directly or not, had already caused them so much pain. 

"I'm gonna leave soon." Techno states, interrupting Dream's thoughts. 

"If you're not gonna die, I think that Manberg might, uh, benefit more from having me right now. Plus, I’ll admit I’m curious what Wilbur’s doin'." He adds, smiling to himself.

Dream flinches lightly at the mention of Wilbur, but silently agrees with the rest. He would also prefer it if Techno was in Manberg, as strange as _ that _ was.

"Techno…" Dream hesitantly begins, "I know I'm already in your debt, here, but… please. Don't let Wilbur hurt anyone."

"You know I can't promise you that."

“C’mon, man, will you  _ try _ .”

Techno is quiet as he mulls it over.

"Maybe. Don’t hope for it though.”

Well, that wasn’t a straight up no. That was more than he had been expecting from him. Techno takes the silence as the end of the conversation, and starts to get up to go.

"I'll tell the guys you said bye."

Techo, ever literal, gives him a confused look.

"I didn't, though?" He protests.

"I'll tell them anyway."

"Okay, whatever. Don't die."

"Stop saying that, I'm not going to."

"Technically, you can't guarantee that. Any number of things could-"

"Techno?"

"Right. Leaving."

He catches his axe one final time, rights himself swiftly, and then disappears into the darkness. 

\-------

The night that Tommy fell asleep in his bed, Tubbo discovered that Tommy was a-  _ would it be funny or sad to call him  _ clingy- sleeper. As soon as Tommy had dipped under consciousness, an arm instinctively grabbed onto Tubbo's shoulder, and he would  _ not  _ settle until he had Tubbo in a deathgrip of an embrace. Usually this would be quite the strange situation, but somehow, affection with Tommy was so much easier when he was asleep. ( _ Many  _ things were easier when Tommy was asleep). Tubbo allowed himself to relax, and soon he felt exaustion coming back to drag him into unconsciousness. Tommy's constant proximity followed him into dreams, and he slept with no specific imagery. 

The _problem_ only came when Tubbo woke up. He very quickly realized that he could not escape Tommy's grip without waking him, unfortunately causing him to decide that… this was just his fate for the next few hours. He had to admit, he didn't mind laying awake at early hours of the morning as much as he typically would. Usually, anxiety was an automatic byproduct whenever Tubbo wasn't actively distracted, and laying awake would be something that would cause that to flare up bad. But anxiety was always easier around Tommy, always. Apparently, whether he was conscious or not. Tubbo felt strangely safe with Tommy as he watches out the window, as the rays of the rising sun slowly begin to wash out the stars.

He was then snapped out of his thoughts by a loud bang from the other room, freezing him in concern. Tubbo considered that it might be Technoblade, but then again, the last time he had made an assumption on who was at his home, he and Tommy were sorely mistaken. He wiggles an arm free and uses it to shake Tommy awake. 

"Wha- what? Whadyouwant?" He mutters. 

"Tommy, I hear something." He says. He doesn't think it actually gets through to his head though, because his response is,

"Go get it then, s'probably 'nother cave spider… jus' go get the…yea…" 

And he's out again, as quickly as he woke. Okay, then, fine. He can investigate by himself! He climbs over Tommy and gets out of the bed, and the moment Tubbo was gone, Tommy immediately curls in on himself, taking the rest of the remaining bedspace and blankets for himself.  _ Dude,  _ he silently complains, _ this is  _ my  _ bed _ . Well, whatever, he  _ probably  _ wasn't going back to sleep anyway. He grabs an old iron sword from a chest in his room, just in case, and goes to investigate. 

Instead of Technoblade's pink haired form, he sees… Dream? Tubbo feels panic rise within him.

"Dream, what are you doing? Why are you up?!" He asks, still trying to keep quiet for Tommy's sake.

Dream smiles at him. 

"Hey! I was just getting water, I’m sorry if I woke you. What's up?"

Tubbo is very confused.

"Dr- wha- Go lay back down! You're hurt?!" He stumbles towards Dream in the dark, ushering him back to his room. Dream goes without a fight, sipping his water as he does. Tubbo is even more surprised to see that the bloody sheets were stripped, and the broken glass from the potion bottle gone. 

"Did- did you  _ clean? _ " Tubbo asks incredulously. 

"Uh, yeah?" He responds, as if it was obvious, "I  _ did  _ kinda made a mess with all my, uh, blood. Oh, also, I didn't know where the sheets went, so I just put them there." 

Tubbo stares at him, completely floored. 

"Wha- DREAM. N- NO! WHAT? DO NOT DO THAT! YOU GOT STABBED?? YOU NEED TO REST!"

Dream laughs, "Okay, okay fine! I'll try."

"NO- THIS- THIS IS AN ORDER! YOU ARE ON BEDREST FROM NOW ON, OKAY? WHERE'S TECHNOBLADE?" 

The ridiculousness of being under  _ order  _ by Tubbo causes Dream to burst out in laughter louder than before, not even the sharp pain from his entire midsection could stop it. Tubbo shakes his head in disbelief, and reaches into a chest to find the remainder of their potions.

"Techno left, sorry I didn't wake you guys. I figured it was fine. He told me to say bye to you, though."

"Here, drink." Tubbo says, unceremoniously shoving a pink bottle into Dream's hand. He complies, chugging the pot as fast as he could, trying to get it over with. Potions always have a weird aftertaste, even ones that don’t initially taste bad. He feels the effects subtly, as Strength usually yields, much of his pain subsiding, his breathing evening. He even felt steadier sitting up in his bed. He smiles and hands the empty bottle back. 

"Are you okay Tubbo?" Dream asks, concern breaking onto his face. Tubbo lets out a sigh, he understands Dream wasn't just asking about the fright he just gave him.

"Yeah, I think. I was just… freaked out before. But I'm better now."

"What did Techno say happened?"

"That… you went back to Manberg. That you killed Schlatt, and Wilbur stabbed you."

"Mm. Well, yeah, that's a good summary, I guess." 

"So… you actually did it?"

"Yes."

Tubbo is silent for a moment, contemplative. 

"Tubbo…?" Dream prompts.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… it's weird, I think."

Dream nods, "That's alright, I mean, I understand how it could be."

Quietly, almost quiet enough that Dream wasn’t sure he was even meant to hear, Tubbo asks,

"Why?"

Dream  _ changes _ in front of him at the question, he suddenly looks so, so impossibly  _ tired _ . Tubbo feels like he recognizes the look, somehow.

"He hit you." Dream states.

"And? I mean… sucked, but s'not really a capital offense, is it?" Tubbo mutters. Dream's tone dips into something dark, something angry, something  _ frightening _ .

"This was my land, before it was anyone else's. This world is  _ mine _ . I decide what the rules are,  _ I decide the punishments _ ."

Tubbo remembered uneasily that he was right. That  _ technically _ , everything WAS his, to give or take away. That Dream was immensely powerful, and had no problem using that power to control the world, the people, everything around him to suit his will. Tubbo is silently grateful that his will happened to include protecting them this time. He shuddered with the memory of the time that it  _ didn't.  _

"Oh. That- that was a bit intense, wasn't it?" Dream says.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Did- did I scare you?” Dream asks.

“No,” Tubbo lies quickly.

“ _ Fuck. _ ” Dream swears quietly. He attempts to take a steadying breath, but pain again pulses through his stomach as he does. He makes no sound to indicate it,  _ yeah,  _ he figures,  _ probably deserved that one _ . 

“I’m sorry,” He says earnestly. “I really am. I’m- you have every right to be scared of me. I’ve been a _ monster _ to you and Tommy.”

“Dream-” 

“Don’t try and justify it to me, please. I know what I was. But I…” Dream struggles for a minute with the sentence, he settles on, “I’m  _ trying _ . Trying to be different.”

They’re quiet for a minute, considering the other. Then, the peace is shattered by,

“TUBBOOOOOOO!” 

Tommy appears in the open door frame, sleep still heavy on his voice, rubbing his eyes.

“Come help me with breakfast! I’m going to die of starvation!” He whines.

Tubbo chuckles at his friend, and happily gets up from where he was sitting to do just that. Dream starts trying to follow them, but Tubbo turns sharply on his heels,

“No! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Uh, saving Tommy from starvation, I guess.” 

“You are still under orders! Bedrest!” Tubbo points sternly back at the bed.

“Wha- you’re not serio-”

“I DON’T FUCKING CARE CAN WE JUST EAT SOMETHING?” Tommy interrupts. Tubbo continues on as if he hadn’t heard him.

“They are very serious orders, you stay in that bed. You may be God of this world, Dream, but I am God of this fucking... house.”

“Tubbo, you did not just ‘My House, My Rules’ me.

“I  _ absolutely _ did, sit your ass back down!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory physical affection scene!! Because it's MY sleepover and I get to choose the projection of touch starvation onto fictional characters!
> 
> Reminder: If anyone reads any Tommy Tubbo scenes as romantic I will PERSONALLY make sure you meet your religious figure of choice and it will not be pretty
> 
> I've been bouncing back and forth between working on this and the prequel, and right now the prequel is giving me trouble so... here you go! <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter CW: swearing, mentions of injury

Once Tommy had actually woken up fully and got food in his system, he was absolutely _delighted_ to hear that Dream was apparently under bedrest orders, and that he was actually _following them_ . He had apparently taken the 'God of the House' comment seriously, and was listening to Tubbo. Unfortunately, despite being the _literal co-owner of this house what the fuck Dream you green bitch_ , he did not extend the treatment to Tommy, try though as he might. 

"Call yourself a dick head."

"No, Tommy."

"Say cobblestone is the best building material."

"What- no."

"Say you love women."

"No."

"So you _hate_ women?"

"No."

"Let me try on the mask."

"No."

"Could I try on your mask?" Tubbo interrupts, breaking the pattern of their back and forth. Dream considers it for a moment, then, rolls over so that his back faces them. When he turns back, his hood is drawn low, shielding the upper part of his face, and in his outstretched hand is his mask.

" _NO FUCKING WAY._ " Tommy shrieks in absolute shock. Apparently, the limit of Tubbo's power knows no bounds. 

Tubbo laughs and quickly snatches the mask from his hand, fastening it over his own head. The clasp is set to Dream's head, so it doesn't fit perfectly, but Tubbo launches into his bit.

"UuUh hEy gUys it'S DrEaM!" He says, purposefully making his voice crack. 

"WAIT LET ME DO GEORGE!" Tommy cries. 

"Hello I'm GOGY. Dream what color are you?? What color are you I can't see! Dream is that you or is it PISS."

"Oh my God." Dream complains.

"HeLLo I'm DrEaM. Uum, I liKe tO gEt sTabBed. I likE To sTeAL tHinGs a lOt."

"What?!" Dream cries, "That is _so_ not-"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME DREAM? Hey, hey Tubbo, doesn't that bird outside kind of look like a disc if you squint your eyes a lot and are also on drugs?"

"A DISC?? WHERE!?" Tubbo exclaims as he runs outside. Tommy watches out the window in hysterics as Tubbo jumps about trying to catch the 'disc'. Dream shakes his head.

"Okay! Enough! Mask back now!" Dream says, although his smile betrays him. 

Tubbo returns to oblige, just narrowly getting into Dream's hand before Tommy can snatch it away. 

Dream tries his best to heed Tubbo's advice, to relax, to heal, but the boys know the whole while that he's anxious to return to Manberg. None of them were sure what to make of the radio silence, how to interpret it. Tubbo is sure that no news is good news, but Tommy… 

"If Technoblade hasn't come back yet to tell us what's happened, that means that he's probably still fighting shit! There's probably a huge war on!"

"With who?" Dream counters, "I'm worried too, Tommy, but there's no government leader anymore, who would he be fighting?"

"Well then what's he doing!"

Dream sighs, suddenly seeming tired, "I don't know, maybe using the huge crater where Manberg was to start a potato farm."

" _Dr- DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT L'MANBERG YOU BITCH! I'LL SICK TUBBO AFTER YOU YOU FUCKIN' GREEN-_ "

"I mean, he does have a point Dream. We don't know L'manberg's gone."

“ _EXACTL-_ ”

"We don't know Wilbur's been stopped, either!" Dream says.

"WE DON'T KNOW BLOODY ANYTHING!" Tommy yells, exasperation getting the better of him.

"Yep." Tubbo says. "That's the point, Toms. I know you don't like being in the dark, but all we can do right now is try not to freak out." 

Tommy mutters under his breath, grabs an axe from the chest, and leaves in a huff. 

"He'll be okay, he's just worried." Tubbo says to Dream, reassuring.

"And you?"

Tubbo smiles quietly.

"Less so."

"You don't think Wilbur's done anything." Not a question, a fact.

"No." 

"You really think he wouldn't?"

That actually evokes a laugh. 

"Oh, gosh, no. I know he would. Maybe I haven't been _living_ with the guy for months like Tommy has, but I know crazy when I see it. I saw it." 

"So you think someone stopped him?"

"I… Yes, I do.”

"Why? Who?" Dream asks, curious. He wants to know where Tubbo’s confidence came from.

Tubbo chooses his words carefully.

"L'manberg always has people fighting for her Dream, whether from the shadows or not." 

"Pft, very dramatic, Tubbo. You've got all these lines recently, don't you?

"Oh, shut up, man."

"I didn't teach you that, did I?" 

"Don't flatter yourself Dream, Wilbur was my brother for years before I met you." 

Tubbo finds Tommy swinging angrily at a birch tree, he doesn’t immediately announce his presence, instead leaning back on a nearby tree to watch. Tubbo can tell he’s working only out of pent up annoyance, his swings are sloppier than they need to be. 

“Don’t let that fall right, s’close to the bee colonies.” Tubbo finally says.

“I won’t.” Tommy replies.

There’s more calm silence that is only filled with sounds of diamond hitting bark.

“You want to go back, don’t you?”

The next swing falters, hits the tree in the complete wrong angle. Tommy leaves it embedded in the wood, and turns to Tubbo. He looks at him, seemingly conflicted. 

“No. I don’t think so. But… at the same time…” Tommy sighs, letting the memories of Wilbur fill him. The good ones, the happy ones. 

“I was… thinking... we do go. With Dream, when he’s better.” Tubbo says. For a moment, Tommy’s jaw drops and his eyes go wide in shock.

“Tubbo… don’t think that- you don’t have to do this for-”

“For me, Tommy.”

“I don’t think I understand.” Tommy admits. 

“Well… among other things… I want to see it. That it’s real, he’s gone.” Tommy nods at that, it did make sense. But Tubbo adds,

“And…" It’s Tubbo’s turn to be conflicted. He doesn’t know how much to share. 

“I would like to speak to some of them. Eret, Nikki, Big Q, mostly.” Tommy just smiles at him,

“So we’ll go then. But… Tubbo.”

“Hm?”

“What… what if… Dream was right? And it’s really gone?”

Tubbo’s face quickly flashes a look of concern, and he quietly, as in so quiet Tommy wasn't even sure he was meant to hear it, says

“They wouldn’t. They wouldn’t have let that happen.”

Dream’s bedrest order gets lifted, and the boys and him work to get him used to moving like normal again. Dream is slower than he wants to be, things that should be as natural as breathing to him cause sharp pains to spike in his abdomen, and he’s doubled over, useless. It’s fucking _infuriating_. Just because Dream thinks he probably does deserve some kind of cosmic punishment like this, doesn’t mean he has to be happy about suffering it. 

Tubbo eventually agrees they can sparr, _carefully_ , after Dream’s insistence that he needs the combat practise, and Tommy beats him 3-2. _Tommy fucking beats him_. Dream wants to slam either his head or Tommy’s into concrete, but what he ends up doing is laying on the grass for about half an hour biting back a scream, and starring hopelessly into clouds. Tommy’s shouts of celebration go on for about double that time. 

Dinner was awful, it was truly a nightmare. Dream thinks there should be a law against Tommy winning anything, that's how annoying he is. Dream really thinks about putting the sword back in his stomach if it meant the end of Tommy’s insufferable bragging. 

“Holy fucking shit. I beat Dream in PVP.” He repeated for about the _fifth_ time.

“Tommy, when I’m healed, I am going to destroy you so thoroughly you won’t have the will to ever throw another punch again.”

“Wow, Dream, you’re a really sore loser. You know, there’s nothing wrong with it, maybe one day I could give you some pointers.”

Dream takes steady breaths and counts to ten in his mind. He promised himself not to scare Tubbo again, he assumed that all of the elaborate threats he wanted to hurl at Tommy would break that promise. He says nothing at all. Thankfully, Tubbo jumps in.

“Dream, I admit you are getting better. _Maybe_ we could... think about getting ready to travel.”

Dream nods in agreement. He didn’t fully understand why Tubbo wanted to return to Manberg, but he wasn’t going to argue it. He hoped that it might help him somehow, like it may be cathartic. 

"I'm ready, we can go now." Dream says.

"Dream…"

"Tubbo." Dream replies, cutting him off before he can finish. 

"I can go." He says, and he's confident about it. He won't be able to travel with the speed and ease as he's used to, but as for being able to travel at Tommy and Tubbo speed? He was sure he could match their pace.

Tubbo reluctantly sighs, returns to his food, and Dream smiles at the unsaid acceptance. 

Tommy, despite _swearing_ up and down that he would be ready, was still asleep at sunrise, the time they agreed to head out. They lose about an hour of daylight dragging him out of bed and getting his shit together. _Finally_ , though, they start to move. Dream was put in charge of navigation, so after they pop out the other side of Tommy's tunnel under the mountain, Dream leads them. He has the map and the compass and seems totally at ease, despite Tommy insisting they're going the wrong way, that he's never seen these trees before, that they're hopelessly lost. They do not end up hopelessly lost, and continue on. They come across one particularly dense bit of forest, and it gives Dream pause. 

"What's up?" Tubbo asks.

"Okay so uh, I'm taking us the fast way, right? And-"

"Wait wait wait- what fast way?" Tommy asks.

"Uh, well no offense guys, but the way you guys originally took to your place? Kinda all over the place, so when I-"

" _All over the place?!_ " Tommy asks, indignant.

"Tommy-"

"MY WAY OF GETTING HOME IS PERFECT FINE, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY CALL ME DREAM, THEY CALL ME THE HUMAN GPS THEY DO, BECAUSE I'M-"

Dream slams a hand on Tommy's mouth, cutting him off. 

"Okay, _first_ please don't yell in the middle of- EW WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU _LICKING ME?_ GROSS." He whips his hand back and wipes it away on a tree. "Jeez, okay, I was _saying_ please don't yell in the middle of a forest like this, something could hear it and decide to try and eat us, and I can't save our lives today. And Tommy, can you name like, _any_ direction right now? Like, east, west, north, can you pick out _one_."

"Don't need to big man, there is left, there is right, and that's up, that's down."

"Okay. So, like I said, your original path was all over the place. So, on this fast path, you pass through this dense bit, which uh, wasn't a problem for me alone, or Techno I guess, but now that we're together, we need to be careful."

Tommy and Tubbo both nodded in agreement. As they continued, the tree canopy above thickens, making it into a weird roof. Itchy plants at knee height reach to scratch their legs, only to be met with armour. The trunks of the trees thicken until they're as wide as all three of them combined, and the ambient noise increases tenfold as little animals make themselves known. 

When a frog croaks, Tubbo jumps high and just about crashes straight into Tommy, causing Dream and Tommy to laugh. 

"Oh, shut up, I don't like it in here!" Tubbo protests.

"It's all weird and spooky! I bet there's a witch living here or something doing evil magic, that's why everything's like this." He says, gesturing vaguely at the everything. 

"Witches prefer swamps." Dream informs, but Tommy hooks his arm around Tubbo's shoulder, and says

"Naaah, this witch hangs around here, don't she, Tubbo? Bet that's her frog. We should keep going before it tells on us and she gives us a curse."

"We should, Tommy, you don't need any more curse words." 

“That’s not… okay.” Dream says, letting the comment go with a fond smile. 

The sun, where it was visible, is beginning to creep below the horizon, but Dream does _not_ want to stop here for the night, so he pushes them forward faster. Tubbo and Tommy would have complained about the pace, but they saw what Dream did too, and concern keeps them silent and moving. It’s only when Dream whips backwards, raising his shield to meet an incoming arrow, that they understand that the pace had not been fast enough, night had fallen. 

The movement causes Dream to double over in pain, and Tommy makes quick work of the skeleton, it vanishes with a puff of magic.

“ _Move._ ” Tubbo commands, and they do, Dream just managing to see enough through pain to lead them in an acceptable direction. Tommy tries to fight off the mobs they pass, but when a zombie gets a good hit on him, he decides that speed and dodging would work fine as well. 

“I know where- just a little further north.” Dream says, despite the three of them sprinting, he appeared to have recovered slightly from the original spike of protest his wound gave him. He leads them to a seemingly normal bit of foliage, destroys the top layer of it with a single strike of axe, and it reveals a cave, which Tommy and Tubbo are unceremoniously shoved in. Despite the copious amounts of adrenaline, Tommy and Tubbo notice the soot on the floor from previous fires, scraps of supplies strewn about, someone’s stayed here before. Dream warns them, panic bleeding into his voice,

“ _Stay in here._ I’m blocking off the entrance.”

They don’t have time to process it before he’s gone. Tommy and Tubbo can only glance at each other, unsure. 

“We- help him.” Tubbo says. Tommy nods sharply, the decision made, and he reaches in his bag for anything he had that could work as a barrier, and they run through the turn in the cave to find Dream. He’s currently fighting through a hole with a zombie, and Tommy hops in to help as Tubbo crouches down, using wood to strengthen the bottom of Dream’s barrier. 

“ _NO!_ TOMMY, TUBBO, OUT.”

“Let us help, Dream!” Tubbo says, already moving on to patching another hole in the wall. 

“THERE ARE LIKE THREE SKELETONS OUT THERE, YOU BOTH NEED TO-” He pauses his sentence to shield Tommy from the zombies swing, countering with a final strike, but it causes Dream to grunt in pain. “ _LEAVE_.” 

“Hey! I had that, man!” Tommy protests.

“Dream, let us help. See look, we can use that last hole to shoot them out of.” Tubbo says, reaching down for a bow when Dream swipes it up before him. 

“NO! No helping! GO BACK!” He insists, before firing two shots outside, followed by two sounds of bones breaking and falling. 

“Dream, this is stupid! You’re being dumb!” Tommy scolds, his annoyance at Dream’s stubbornness growing, bur Dream whips around to face him, saying

“NO, TOMMY, I’M TRYING TO PROTECT YO-” 

His sentence is cut short when an arrow finds it’s mark in his shoulder, pain explodes in the wound immediately, and he stumbles towards the wall. Tommy and Tubbo rush towards him, but for a few seconds, he doesn’t focus on them. All he can think of, staring up at the cave wall as if it was the infinite night sky is,

_If there are Gods up there, they have a fucked sense of humour._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A CHAPTER! FINALLY  
> I got very sick midway through this with what I think now was the flu, (i got tested dw, it wasn't the Big C), as well as finals deciding to kick me when I was down, so I apologise for the wait! Excuses, excuses I know. But hey, if this chapter makes absolutely no sense, that's why haha. I'm hoping that I'll be able to continue working on winding down this fic more consistently now (we're almost where I want this to be :D)  
> Okay, back to schoolwork now.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter CW for panic attacks and anxiety

“You are so stupid.”

“I got that the last ten times you said it, Tommy.” Dream quips back as Tubbo wraps his shoulder. With their nightly barricade finished, they had set up their shabby camp for the night. That meant helping Dream as best they could, preparing dinner, and getting themselves ready to sleep.

“Toms, focus on not burning the fish, please.” Tubbo says, and the absolute exasperation in his voice ensures that Tommy’s protest die in his throat. 

“But Dream, that  _ was _ stupid. What on Earth made you think we couldn’t help? I mean, you’re  _ literally  _ the  _ only _ injured one here."

Dream sighs, "C'mon, guys, don't grill me here, I just wanted to get you two away from danger. The skeleton was an accident."

"An accident that didn't need to happen." Tubbo scolds. He finishes off the last bit of bandages on Dreams shoulder, and says,

"Next time, we work together."

Dream says nothing, not wanting to argue, but absolutely disagreeing. He'll put these two in any danger over his dead body. The skeleton  _ was  _ an accident, he was meant to hit it with his second arrow, but it moved at the last possible second. Dream mentally attributes it to his cosmic punishment. Wage war on their country, get stabbed by it's former leader, let a kid be abused for months under his supervision, atone a little bit by killing said abuser, but still, why don't you take an arrow to the shoulder, Dream? LMAO, suck it, -Love, The Universe 

Dream couldn't complain about its reasoning though, fair's fair, even if it fucking  _ sucked _ . 

Tommy had finished cooking their food, and was passing it around as Dream sulked. 

"So, what exactly are we doing once we get there?" Tommy asks.

Dream's answer is automatic. 

"Find Wilbur. Figure out what he's done. Stop him if need be."

Tubbo chirps out his own response.

"I'd like to speak to Eret, Nikki, maybe Big Q."

Tommy sneaks a concerned look at Tubbo. He wanted desperately to find Wilbur, but if Tubbo was going to be revisiting some bad stuff… 

"I'll stay with you, Tubbo." He tries to announce casually. Unfortunately, Tubbo doesn't buy it.

"I'll be okay, Tommy. Dream'll need you way more than I will. Doubt Nikki's likely to want to blow up her own store." Tubbo says, elbowing his friend lightheartedly. 

Tommy does not return the banter, he looks out at Tubbo, concern bleeding through his expression. He speaks quietly,

"I don't want you to be alone, man. Not if... "

Tubbo sighs and reaches forward to grab Tommy's hand.

"I won't be, dumbass. Just go with Dream. I'll be okay." 

Something about his silent communication reassures him, and he nods, their plans are set. 

A few minutes later Tommy and Tubbo knock out with the ease that only teenage boys can, while Dream remains fitfully awake. His stomach, and now his goddamn shoulder hurt too much to be comfortable, and they were out of potions that would dull the pain at all. He didn't mind it too much though, he could use the time to make some preparations. He crafted some arrows, loaded crossbows, sharpened his sword, whatever. He knew that in all likelihood, he might not need any of it. Of course he knew that, the uncertainty of the situation at Manberg was one of the only things his idle mind could ever think about. No matter what, this is what it came down to, either they would find an empty crater where Manberg was, or they wouldn't. And if they didn't, if there was anything to salvage, Dream was going to fight for it. For Tommy and Tubbo.

Dream jerks awake, only a few hours after he had apparently drifted off, to the sound of rain. The cave is the same, boys sprawled out asleep. Well, an hour or two was more sleep than he was expecting to get out of tonight, so he quietly gets up. He quickly checks for any leaks in their cave, but luckily they appear to be all dry. Dream peels away a plank of wood in their barricade to check outside, hoping to get a sense of time, hoping that  _ maybe  _ the sun would be close to rising, but he was wrong. Nor does he see the moon, leaving him with no clue as to the time. He sees no monsters, but he can still certainly hear some if he strains. 

If he was well, Dream supposes he would have gone out to hunt them to pass the time. Maybe he could have grabbed some extra arrows from fallen skeletons, at least. Sigh. He grabs some wood planks, hunches over a crafting table, and busies himself as he waits.

The boys stir, and Tommy eventually sits himself up with a groan. The first thing he senses is the smell of food, he looks around and is pleased to find that breakfast was already prepared. He starts eating wordlessly, and after a while, Tubbo rises and follows suit. They chat amongst themselves as they hear Dream rustling around further down into the cave, presumably getting their stuff ready to leave. After eating, they make their way to greet him good morning, but are surprised to see… 

"Dream?" Tubbo asks.

"Hm?" He responds, only half heartedly listening as he gathers their sleeping gear.

"Why's there a door?"

Dream looks up in surprise, and smiles back at them sheepishly. If he wasn't going to sleep, why not expedite the leaving process for the morning? Removing the barricade would have taken ages. It did take ages, but Dream did it while they slept, so now all they had to do was open the door and leave. Plus, if this was a midway point, why not make a semi-permanent base?

"Mate, at this point, why even ask?" Tommy snarks, before opening the new door and walking out. And they're off. The rain from the night before was lingering in the form of a slight drizzle, but it wasn't too bad travel wise, but it did mean that the mobs from the night had a bit more leeway than he was comfortable with, not immediately being burned by the daylight. Dream warned them all to keep an extra eye out.

They were slower than they were yesterday, Tommy complained about mud a lot, but they made progress. The trees cleared, then replaced themselves with tall, snow capped spruce. Landmarks come and go, and inevitably, they get nearer.

The proximity to Manberg was like a tangible fog in the air, it choked them all into silence. Dream happily ignored it when Tommy visibly shuddered passing by an old cobblestone structure of his. 

The silence gets heavier as they cross the borders.

The streets are eerily silent as well, as if the fog that was stinging their lungs on the way over had taken form, and was choking everyone else too. But Dream didn't care, what he cared about was that there  _ were still streets _ . His surveyal for any unusual damage was coming up empty, everything looked… normal? Deserted, but normal.

Tubbo clears his throat, and it sounds so loud in comparison that it snaps Dream out of his thoughts. 

"We, uh, we should head to the centre before splitting up." He says. And it’s as simple as that, they go.

As they walk, Tubbo is trying,  _ trying  _ to be calm. He doesn't want to freak out, he knows that this is so stupid, they were just walking. Nothing terrifying at all about walking. But his heart rate was betraying him, his body disagreeing  _ vehemently _ . His lungs protest the shortage of air, he feels awful, his body feels like he's  _ back _ . Like he needs to hurry off and finish whatever stupid task, or else he'll get mad. He'll scream again, just like he did in that very building they just passed. Or he'll shove him into a wall, like the one to their left, Tubbo feels the phantom pain of it in his back already. Everything he sees is sparking memories he doesn't want, being screamed at by that bush, being shoved into that fence that broke skin, and being in trouble for bleeding. He remembers, he remembers and it feels like his body is filling with static, his arms go numb at his sides, his ribs ache with phantom wounds that have healed.

"..." 

There were no hands around his neck this time, but he still can't breathe. 

"...!!"

Someone is screaming. Someone is screaming and soon they're going to find him, and then-

" _ Tubbo _ !"

Tubbo flinches back hard as an urgent voice breaks through to him. For one brief minute, before he can distinguish the haunting shadows of the past from the present, he's pure fear. Is- is he  _ surrounded?  _ People are touching him, he contorts against them, needing to  _ get away _ , and-

Tommy quickly releases him from his grip, realising the mistake. He had been holding him by his shoulders, an attempt to be grounding, before Tubbo shoved him away. Tubbo stares at them both with fearful eyes. Dream flits around beside Tommy, unsure.

Tommy waits patiently as Tubbo slowly starts to understand what happened, as reality begins to filter through. Tubbo hadn't even noticed when they had stopped in the middle of the street.

"Tubbo? You alright?" Tommy hesitantly asks.

He blinks hard, trying to focus on his surroundings. 

"I- uh, I think?" He says. Neither Dream nor Tommy are convinced, they, while still trying not to touch him so soon after he flinched so badly, usher him to sit down. Dream hands him water, which he’s happy to see Tubbo chug down. He pauses for a minute, considering, then quietly takes off his green cloak to wrap it around Tubbo. Shock blankets, right? And water? He thinks he remembers those being helpful to people panicking. His memory served him right this time, Tubbo’s breathing slows. He says,

"I… I got a little freaked out. I'm okay. I didn't, uh, I didn't expect that… to happen… I saw, uh, I saw something. It made me remember. " 

_ Everything  _ he saw made him remember, but he chooses not to add that. They didn't need to know that every little detail of this place added up to the worst, most horrifying ambiance possible. Tubbo wraps himself tightly in the cloak, takes a few deep breaths in an attempt to banish the last of the ghost hands that hurt him, and stands up.

“I’m okay. We can go.” He announces.

They begin to walk again with added haste in an attempt to get out of that street, and reach the centre quickly. Dream turns back to Tubbo, steeling himself for their parting. 

"Tubbo, Tommy and I will look for Wilbur. If he's anywhere nearby, he shouldn't be too difficult, I’m thinking. We’ll also be looking for any information we can find about what’s been happening. We need to make sure everyone is safe. You just focus on doing what you need to do. We should meet back here at, I guess noon? Is that okay?” He asks, turning back to Tommy to pose the question to them both. Tommy shrugs indifferently, and Tubbo says,

“Yeah, that’s okay.” He’s not perfect at time estimates, but Eret’s castle was close by enough that that would probably work. 

Tubbo begins to absentmindedly remove Dream’s green cloak to return, but Dream grabs his hands and shakes his head.

“Keep it. You can give it back to me later.” Tubbo, slightly in shock, nods. And, after a second of hesitation, Dream pulls Tubbo into a quick hug. After a second, he pulls away, and leaves Tommy and Tubbo to their own goodbyes. 

Tommy is shooting him  _ what the fuck???  _ eyes at the cloak, and Tubbo is just as surprised. 

“You better let me try it on later-”

“Dude I don’t even know-”

“Oh my gosh, that’s so fucking cool.”

“Dream without the cloak, what will he do?”

They both snicker at the joke, before slightly sobering up as they face their separation. It dawns on Tommy that this would be the first time being without Tubbo since they left. The thought of it causes a spike of anxiety in him, but he tries to shut it down. Tubbo had armour and tools, he can take care of himself, and it’s not like he was charging to goddamn enemy lines here, he was seeing  _ Nikki _ . He tells this to himself, he repeats it in his mind, but knowing that never changes the fact that saying goodbye to Tubbo is the hardest thing he ever has to do. He’s reminded of the aching feeling that clawed at his chest every time he had to let Tubbo go back to Manberg. This feels like a distant remnant of that pain, uncomfortable, but for now, manageable.

“See you at noon Big Man.”

“Noon indeed!” Tubbo chirps. They hug, and Tommy tries not to remember all the hugs they shared before Tubbo marched back to Manberg, back to Schlatt, back to their beautiful home turned personal hell.  _ It’s different _ , he repeats, _ it’s different, it is. _

Tubbo pats him on the shoulder and leaves, and Tommy desperately tries to ignore the bit of his soul that goes with him. He turns away from Tubbo, with no small effort.

“Right, well, let’s find the bastard.” He says to Dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UUUGH I'm so sorry for how long it takes me to get these chapters out guys, I swear I'm working on this fic even when it doesn't seem like it,  
> anyway, I appreciate you all sm for the support <3 <3  
> also, me in my fics: "and then Dream was like Tommy and Tubbos older brother and he stopped being a dick and it was really wholesome"  
> Dream in cannon: *literally fuckijng abuses Tommy*


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter CW for mentions of abuse

**Tubbo**

Tubbo didn’t need a map, he didn’t need to view the street signs, the path was memorised, even now. Nikki’s bakery was dark, a closed sign in the window, so he shifted goals to Eret’s castle. He approaches the entrance, but is surprised to be stopped by guards.

“Um, hello, I’ve come to see Eret?” He explains.

One of the guards responds to him. Tubbo thinks he hears annoyance in his voice, but he says politely enough,

“Her Highness is very busy, sir.” 

Tubbo shifts uncomfortably, “Oh, okay, well, d’you think you can tell them that Tubbo is here? I, um, I’m not sure how long we’ll be here, so…”

The second guard turns to them and interrupts,

“Wait, Tubbo?”

“Yeah, that’s me.” He says. 

The first guard looks at the other skeptically. 

"You know him?"

"Kid named Tubbo used to have full clearance, before, you know?"

"Think he's the same?"

Tubbo, slightly annoyed at being spoken about like he wasn't standing _right there_ , adds,

" _Yes_ I'm the same Tubbo."

 _Seriously, man?_ Eret and him literally fought in a war together, you'd think Tubbo would be allowed in his goddamn house without hassle. The second guard shrugs, and gestures to let him in. The first one, after a moment, follows suit. Tubbo brushes quickly past them and makes his way around the semi familiar halls, searching. He doesn't want to call out to anyone, it might freak them out, so he wanders in silence, following the sounds of voices. They were muffled, behind a closed door, with more guards standing post. They, unlike the ones out front, move from his way when he approaches. He stands in front of the door, hesitant. He peeks through.

His intuition proved correct, Nikki was there. He assumed this was where she'd be since her bakery was closed. She sat at Eret's left, with a man he didn't recognise at Eret's right. A few seats down he saw what had to be the back of Quackity's hat. The room was full of people Tubbo didn't actually know, advisors and other leaders likely there to discuss politics. Tubbo second guessed coming here, perhaps he shouldn't disturb them. 

All that faded away when Nikki brought her head up, and her eyes met his. He couldn’t doubt the way she called out his name, the way she leapt up from her chair without care for the people who stared confused at her or the papers she scattered about the floor, she rushed towards him. In barely a moment, he was in her arms, and she was sobbing into his shirt, an opposite parallel to their last meeting, he thinks with a dry laugh. Then he feels Eret join in their hug, Quackity’s hand excitedly clapping his back, and all Tubbo can think is that he’s here, _he’s safe, he’s safe._

**Dream & Tommy**

Dream without his signature green cloak was not a sight Tommy thinks he could ever get used to. Underneath it, apparently, the guy wore a simple long sleeved black tee shirt, along with his utility belt and black pants. He doesn't even have any jokes about it, it's just _wrong_ . He almost looks _normal_ , like a guy you could see walking casually down the street, aside from the porcelain mask. Tommy wonders if Dream ever did that, take off the mask and the cloak, and just walk around town like a normal dude. No title, no status, he thinks about asking him, but he’s distracted when they suddenly see someone scurrying down the streets. Dream moves to stop them. 

"Hey!" He calls.

The person pauses, but considering how they were the only person on the street, they had no plausible reason to act like the call _wasn't_ for them. 

"What?" They ask back.

"What happened here? Who's in charge now? Have you seen a guy, about my height, with a hat-"

"What my friend here _means_ ," Tommy interrupts, "is that we're sorta new here. We've heard there's been some change in the presidency, can you tell us what's been happening?"

The person seems to relax some.

"Yeah, uh, the president died. They said it was some kind of heart attack. Technically that put his vice in charge, but y'know, there's been some questions about that. Dunno if he's gonna step up. Heard talk about that King Eret being involved, too. No one's… really sure what's been happening. It's really weird." They explained. 

"A heart attack?" Dream asks incredulously. Tommy elbows him lightly in the ribs to shut him up, but, completely forgetting his injury, it worked a bit too well. Dream gives a slight intake of breath, and then grits his teeth against the spike of pain. Oh well, he's quiet now.

"Is that why everything's all… quiet n shit?" Tommy asks.

"Well, yeah, people are a bit skittish right now. Also, though, some people have been moving out. President Schlatts approval rating took this huge dip a few months ago, like, _no one_ was happy with his decisions, so a lot of people left."

"Oh, damn. Well, uh, just one more thing then, you heard any explosions lately?"

The person gave him a baffled look, and replied,

"Uh, no…? Why..?"

"No reason, thank you!" Tommy said, and with the semi-dismissal, the person hurried off. Dream, who had mostly recovered by now, was glaring daggers at Tommy.

"I should kill you for that. Like I should actually beat the shit out of you."

"Sorry, sorry! I forgot! Don't worry, we'll get you another potion soon."

"As soon as I drink it, we're sparring again."

Tommy chokes out a surprised laugh, " _NOOO NO NONONO BIG MAN._ NOT NECESSARY." 

"So necessary! You have been _such_ a little shit, Tommy." He says, punching him playfully in the arm.

"Well speaking of, what the fuck was that man! Do you have like, _any_ people skills? Or is it just all PvP and stabbin' shit up there?"

"I was getting to the point!"

“You freaked them out!”

“Oh, and you didn’t? What was that question about explosions?”

“ _Helpful,_ that’s what it was, dickhead! Now we know Wilbur didn’t detonate anything!”

“Hm.” Dream grunts in acknowledgement. “Yet. Could still be rigged, I guess.” 

Dream said it casually, as if he was just thinking out loud, but the statement causes Tommy to freeze. He thinks with an icy shock that he was right, it _could_ still be rigged. Wilbur could flick a lever right now and blow the entire city to pieces, and _Tommy had brought Tubbo here_. Tommy doesn’t think, he turns the opposite direction that they came, and begins to move. Dream grabs the back of his shirt, and yanks him back.

“Where you goin’?” He asks. 

“Has it occurred to you, big man, that we could have walked straight into a fucking ticking time bomb?? We- we brought Tubbo here, we have to get him-"

"Tommy." Dream says, "Think. _If_ Wilbur has set something up, we grab Tubbo and bolt, everyone else dies? And what happens if he didn't? If he's out there right now, we have the chance to stop him, and don't?"

Tommy hates the sense Dream was making.

"Tubbo-"

"Is with people who care about him. People who wouldn't let him get hurt."

Tommy didn't like it, but his breathing slowed. He could see the truth in Dream's logic.

“If Tubbo explodes, I am stabbing you in the other side.”

Dream nods in mock seriousness, “If Tubbo explodes, I will allow it.”

**Tubbo**

Eret swiftly calls an emergency recess to their meeting, and they rush to another room to talk. During the short walk, Tubbo found none of them were willing to break physical contact with him, almost as if they thought he would disappear if they couldn't _feel_ him. Nikki held his hand, Eret walked with her arm around his shoulders, and big Q kept a hand on his back. Tubbo, surprisingly, didn't mind any of it.

"What- how? How are you here?"

So he told them. He started from the very beginning, from the fateful night when he rushed in secret from Eret's castle to Pogtopia. He told them about their journey, their new home, Dream's arrival, his disappearance, they looked baffled at some of what he said, and Quackity couldn't help but interrupt him in the middle.

“Did you know what he was doing? When he left?” Quackity asks, referencing Dream.

“We had no idea. If I did… I don’t know, I might’ve told him not to go, I might’ve polished his sword for him.” He lightly laughs at his own meager attempt to joke through the situation. He gets sympathetic smiles from them, but he knows that they see through his humour.

“Well, shit, Tubbo, you had every right to go with him and do the deed yourself, if you ask me.” Quackity says, trying to be lighthearted as well, but there was still a bitterness leaking into his tone. It made Tubbo curious.

“Vouch,” Eret comments, “You both did.” 

Tubbo’s confusion was not cleared, he figures that yeah, Schlatt was a dick to everyone in his cabinet, but Nikki and Eret were speaking like they were referencing something specific, something he was clearly not privy to.

“Wait… what?” Tubbo asks.

Eret and Nikki look at him with confusion, but Quackity just nods, and says,

“Ah, yeah I uh, figured you didn’t know. He, uh, he did it to me too, Tubbo.”

Tubbo’s head spins. Surely… surely he wasn’t talking about what he thinks they were. What did he mean Schlatt… Schlatt hit him? What did he mean _too_ ? He- Tubbo never told them, he never told anyone, he- they couldn’t know, they _couldn’t_.

They were speaking amongst themselves as Tubbo silently spiraled. 

“He didn’t _know_? Oh, Quackity, I’m sorry, I assumed-”

“No, Eret, it’s okay, seriously.”

“I wouldn’t, I would never want to-”

Tubbo interrupts their talking, choking out,

“ _You guys knew??_ About- about _me_? A-and Schlatt?” 

Nikki finally breaks her silence.

“Tubbo, sweetie, of _course_ we knew. Not- not at first, but once- once we did, we… we wanted to help you, but we didn’t know how without putting you in more danger. We were planning, we were going to get you out of there, until that one day-”

Tubbo flinches, causing Nikki to stop. He didn’t need to think about his last day in Manberg. 

“Well, yeah, that day.” She finishes.

Tubbo shifts his attention to Quackity, the shock of his dark secret having apparently been known to everyone this entire goddamn time fading.

"Big Q… I didn't know. I thought… I thought it was just me."

Quackity shrugged.

"That's what he wanted, man. He didn't want us to… y'know, talk about it, or whatever. Wanted to keep it quiet.”

“Yeah, because he knew he’d end up with a knife in his throat.” Nikki mutters, bitter.

“He did!” Eret says enthusiastically, and it evokes a light laugh from all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LALALALALA I DONT SEE CANON I DONT SEE IT IVE NEVER HEARD OF IT NOPE NOT AT ALL  
> also, I'm kind of iffy about this chapter, i think because its split up the way it is? anyway, enjoy!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no particular chapter CW's

Quackity returns the favor, he's now the one who tells Tubbo the story of what he missed when he left. He tells of Schlatt's rage when he realised Tubbo was gone, his furious manhunt that came up empty, and the subsequent month or so where he completely dissolved. Apparently he drank even more than he did before, something Tubbo had doubted was even possible, his decisions became questionable, at best. He’s listening with concern as he describes Schlatt’s descent.

"I mean, that's the gist of it, though.” He says as he’s wrapping up.

“Schlatt goes crazy, starts making weird decisions. Lot of people aren't happy, he's killed in the middle of the night, blah blah blah… here we are! Here you are!"

"Here I am!" He agrees enthusiastically, "come all this way to see you guys! And uh, I’m sure Dream and Tommy will want to speak with you lot too, after they find Wilbur-"

"Wilbur? Oh, we know where Wilbur is." Quackity mentions offhandedly. 

If Tubbo had had a drink in his mouth, he definitely would have spit it out at that, like some sort of dramatic movie scene. Instead, he just gapes at Quackity for a minute, then screams,

" _ WHAT?! _ " 

Nikki chuckles at his outburst, then says,

"Yeah! Quackity and I were together that night when we saw him. We were worried, you know he wasn’t really meant to be there, so we went to talk to him, but he got scared and attacked us. He was yelling a lot of strange things, I… we think he's unwell, Tubbo."

"YEAH NO SHIT HE'S FU- HE WA- CAN-  _ WHERE IS HE? _ "

"He's downstairs in hospital! Fundy is staying with him."

Tubbo stands abruptly, and the rest of the room follows suit moments after.

"Where we goin'?" Quackity muses, "I stood up because of peer pressure, I don't actually know what we're doing."

"What- no-  _ I'm  _ gonna find Dream and Tommy and bring them back here! We gotta see Wilbur!” He exclaims, still reeling from the discovery. He glances upward at a clock hung on the wall, and adds,

“'Sides, it's almost noon, that's when we were supposed to meet anyway." 

Eret nods thoughtfully at him,

"I suppose that's okay, we should get back to our meeting too. I'll try and end it quickly, Tubbo, I swear. Until then, you're welcome anywhere, to anything, of course."

Tubbo breathes out a huff of a laugh. 

"Pft, tell that to the guards out front." He mutters, half to himself. Eret apparently hears him though, and shoots him a questioning look about the comment. He sheepishly relays the story, and Eret seems outraged,

“Wait,  _ what _ ?! Fucking- hold on-”.

The group breaks out in laughs, watching them mutter their profanities and walk off to scold a guard.

\----------

"Tommy! Dream!" They hear Tubbo call out as he approaches. He's on time, of course, Dream and him were the ones who were early, sitting around dejectedly at the place they agreed upon before, after essentially giving up their search.

“Hey Tubbo.” Dream calls. 

“Tubbo, Wilbur is a bitch!” Tommy complains.

“I- yeah- but guys listen!”

“How goddamn hard is it to find a fuckin crazy person, huh? I mean, seriously we-”

“Guys, I found him!” Tubbo announces.

He gets baffled looks from the both of them. Then, Dream smiles and pats him on the shoulder.

“Nice!”

“Thank you! It wasn’t actually me though, Quackity-”

“ _ TUBBO YOU BITCH! WE SEARCH THIS GODDAMN TOWN FOR HOURS AND FIND NOTHING AND YOU JUST  _ WALK  _ UP AFTER HANGING OUT WITH YOUR  _ MATES  _ FOR AN HOUR AND-” _

He is silenced by Dream’s hand covering his face.

“Where is he, Tubbo? Is everyone okay? TOMMY IF YOU LICK MY HAND ONE MORE TIME-”

“STOP PUTTING YOUR HAND IN MY FACE, DICKHEAD!”

They dissolve into bickering, and Tubbo into hysterical laughter. 

The guards looked like they were going to trip over themselves with how fast they rushed to stand at ease when Tubbo came back, Tommy and Dream in tow. Dream had no idea what sparked their haste, but he swore he heard Tubbo  _ giggle  _ as they walked into the castle. His curious glance got him nothing back but a hand wave off. Once in, Tubbo politely asked someone for potions, and they were led to a sitting room while they waited for them.

"Man, I feel bad asking someone, but I don't know where they are."

"I'm sure it's fine, Tubbo." Dream reassured. "It’s no big deal, we'll head right to Wilbur after this."

"What else do you think we could ask for? If we asked for alcohol, do you think they'd give it to us?" Tommy chimed in, excited. 

Tubbo's eyes glint mischievously,

"Eret  _ did  _ say anything I wanted…"

The same man as before entered the room, surprising them all by carrying just about every variety of potion there was in his arms.

"As you requested, Sir Tubbo."

Tubbo begins pouring out thanks, and Dream gingerly picks up a potion of regen, plugs his nose against the taste, and chugs. Immediately he feels the effects, thanks to whoever having brewed it being very skilled. As the dull pain in his side that had been a constant for him subsides, he wonders if here would be an inappropriate place to challenge Tommy to a rematch. As he ponders his potential strats, the member of the castle speaks up again.

"Oh! And of course the fourth member of your party is on his way up as well."

The words hang in the air for a fraction of a second, and then Dream is moving. 

_ God,  _ does it feel good for him to  _ move  _ again, unhindered by pain, his body finally back in his control. He moves the boys further from the door, a safer location blocked by furniture. He immediately sees a problem with the potions. Dream could easily snatch one to use mid fight, but of course, that meant so could his opponent. Making sure no one would be in the way, he brushes them all off the table in one fell sweep of his arm. Glass shatters onto the floor, magic swirls in the air for a moment, and then disappears. Finally, Dream has his sword in hand, and takes a defensive position before the door, ready to defend them all from the imposter.

A tense moment passes, and then Technoblade walks in, appraises the scene, but still manages to look bored as ever. 

"Oh hey, you're alive."

The comment annoys him, but before he can speak, Tommy blurts from behind him,

"Techno??"

It echoes his sentiments as well. Still, Dream relaxes his stance slightly, sensing no imminent danger from the man. He knew Techno, if he came to fight, they'd be doing it by now.

"You're not the fourth member of our party."

"Yeah! We don't have any! We're only three, like them musketeer bitches!" Tommy shouts.

"Look, I never even claimed to be. Those guards out front were the ones who were like 'are you Tubbo's friend? Sir, you know Tubbo?? Please sir, let us shine your shoes! May we take your coat sir!!' I just went along with it. But like, jeez, Tubbo, what did you  _ do _ to them?" He chuckles.

Dream rolls his eyes at him, and then relents his defensive position enough to turn his back on him, to check on the boys. What he sees shatters his focus on Techno entirely.

Tubbo looking up at him in  _ fear _ . Real, genuine fear. Oh, god,  _ the bottles _ . What was he thinking?! Loud noise like that, all the fast movements… Dream spares himself only a moment to mentally chastise himself, then he has to refocus.

Drops his sword incredibly slowly, crouches down on one knee.

"I'm sorry, Tubbo. I didn't… I didn't realise. I thought someone was coming to hurt us, and I didn't think. But we're okay now. Everything's okay."

It helps. So do the steady circles Tommy had been rubbing into his back the whole time, and the pressure from their joined hands, but Tubbo relaxes.

"Uh, well, Eret kinda… scolded the guards for not letting me in before. S'probably why they're embarrassed." Tubbo says, and Dream realises he was answering Techno's question from before. Speaking of, Dream had a few questions for the man himself. He spins back to face him.

"Why are you here?"

"Heard everyone was having a big meetin', didn't want to be left out."

"We’re not really going to the meeting, Techno. We're here for Wilbur."

Techno’s eyebrows raise slightly, like the statement mildly intrigued him. He shrugs, "Huh. Guess that's your prerogative.” Dream finds himself narrowing his eyes at the man in suspicion. He leans back into the doorframe, still trying to appear as detached as ever, but for some reason, it isn’t coming off as genuine anymore, but rather as a purposeful act.

“I mean, I thought at least  _ you'd _ be more interested in the fate of this place though, Dream."

Dream freezes, feeling as shocked as if Techno has slapped him.  _ Of course  _ Dream cared about this place, no matter what factions it broke into, the whole SMP was his responsibility. Not only was it his responsibility, it was his  _ creation _ . 

But… 

He looked back again at the boys. The boys who helped him rediscover that truth, rediscover his importance to keeping this place safe. The boys who saved him from becoming the cruel, apathetic person he had felt himself slipping into. 

They were his responsibility, too. He couldn't decide this for them, he thinks. 

"Guys?" He asked. A simple word, a complicated question. They understood what he meant, though.

"Will can wait." Tommy said. Tubbo nods slightly in agreement, determination sparking in his eyes. Dream finds himself smiling back at them, flooded with appreciation. 

All four of them walk to the meeting room, Dream keeping a close hand on Tommy and Tubbo. When they get there, Tubbo is pleased to see that the advisors he saw earlier were gone, leaving only his friends. This wouldn't be so bad!

As they enter, Fundy announces his presence by saying,

"Oh, Dream's alive!"

Annoyance again flares up behind his mask.

"Am I ever going to live this down? Am I going to walk into a room five years from now and hear 'oh hey, Dream survived that stab wound!'"

There's a chorus of yes's from everyone.

"You guys are so dumb. You know I've been stabbed before, right? Like I've definitely survived worse than  _ Wilbur Soot _ ."

"Shut up Dream, you're not even green anymore." Quackity jokes, jerking his head at Dream's cloak-less form.

"TRUE!" Tommy yells, unhelpfully. 

"YEAH, SHUT UP, MASK BOY! YOU'RE NOT EVEN GREEN." Techno adds on, laughing.

The group is rather surprised at Techno's appearance behind Tommy, but they do laugh at his joke. Dream resists the urge to slam his face into something.

"I'm not briefing any of you on how Schlatt died, since apparently you all know enough to make fun of me for it." Dream announces, "Technoblade is also here. Wants to be 'included'."

At that, Dream and the rest of them find a chair.

"Well," Eret begins, "Quackity and I were discussing the specifics of combining our power into one central role. As you all know, L'manberg was left very unsteady after the death of Schlatt, but with my experience as-"

"No." Techno states plainly.

"What?"

"Techno, don't interrupt." Nikki chides. Technoblade stumbles awkwardly after the criticism,

“I- look, I’m not- what he was saying was stupid, this meeting is gonna be stupid, so I'm gonna talk now. I’m gonna say my thing."

"Techn-"

"Alright, so, overthrowin' Schlatt, I got no problem with, no problem at all. Obviously. I mean, I helped, so… yeah. Not only was he a government official, but he was also a dick. However!" he begins, seeming to get into a rhythm after his initial discomfort. His tone departes from his normal range into anger, "I'm not gonna sit here and let you just replace him with  _ another  _ stupid government!"

He lets that sit there a minute, but Tommy begins to protest.

"Techno, that's crazy! We- In Pogtopia-"

"I've made it clear to  _ all of you _ ," he gives Tommy a pointed stare, "how I feel about government. Seriously, none of you should be surprised here, really. Now listen,  _ I have Wilbur's TNT _ , and I also happen to have-"

He reaches for something, and the room drops a few degrees as it appears in his hand. A sick, decayed, pitch black skull. It looks about five seconds from collapse, but it miraculously stays as he slams it on the table.

"I have soul sand and wither skulls. I will destroy this place if you instill another government. I will burn it to the ground." He says simply. The room explodes with oppoosition.

" _ Techno! _ " Nikki screams.

"Put those away, man!" Quackity cries in disgust. 

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" from Tommy. Dream appeared to be the only one remaining calm.

"Technoblade. Listen to me, there are people living here now, families-"

"Not my problem. If you don't want anyone to get hurt, just drop the government talk. It's simple."

"That's not what I mean. Well, I- yeah, that's relevant too, but- what I mean is, these people are going to need some kind of protection. That's all a government is for, man, for protection."

"So, what, you give one person all the power, just for him to eventually turn around and hurt the people even worse than if you'd left them alone? Ooooh or do you think it'll be better because it's a  _ group  _ of people! Yeah, we all saw how great  _ Schlatt's  _ cabinet turned out, didn't we?" He mocks. Quackity leaps up from his chair, reaching for a sword, when Fundy grabs him and holds him back.

" _ Don't. _ " He hisses, "How  _ dare  _ you-" 

"Cut it out, man, he'll spawn that thing right now, come on…" Fundy says, encouraging him to resheathe the weapon, and return to his chair. He does, swiftly swearing in Spanish the whole time.

"Enough." Dream's voice cuts through the chatter. 

"Technoblade, we'll agree to your demands." Again, the room explodes in noise.

" _ WHAT? _ "

" _ NO THE HELL WE WON'T. _ "

Dream's eyes have something dangerous in them again.

"Fine, _I_ , agree to your demands, Technoblade." 

“What- Oh fuck off, Dream, you think that pulling the old ‘oh I’m Dream!! I'm green and I own the world!’ card gives you the  _ right _ -” Quackity complains, but Dream shoots him an enraged glance that causes the rest of his sentence to die in his throat. Dream does not yell when he speaks, but the power of his words hold the room firmly.

"I'm not letting him spawn fucking  _ Withers _ in L'manberg.  _ People will die _ ! Innocent people who have  _ nothing _ to do with this! Can you all please get your heads out of your own asses enough to  _ see  _ that? The politics of it don't  _ matter _ , what  _ matters  _ is keeping people _ safe _ ."

He faces a completely silent room, intimidated into pause. They consider him. The first to break it is,

"He's right." Tubbo says. When everyone, including Tommy, turns to him in shock, he flinches back from the sudden attention. He grabs onto Dream’s cloak and pulls it tighter around him. It gives him courage to continue, picking his words very carefully.

"You lot can't let anyone get hurt, not over this, not over power. You can find some other way to organize the people. I'm sure there is one. There's always a way to keep peace."

"Tubbo… L'manberg…" Tommy murmurs to him. 

"I thought I made my opinion on that very clear. Let it die,  _ I don't care _ ." He asserts firmly. However, something softens in his tone when he says, "I.. I care about those people, though, y’know? They… they were nice to me. They don't deserve to die."

The silence in the room returns, until Nikki says, 

"I will agree to the terms."

It gets a silent, appreciative nod from Dream. Eret gives a lingering glance at the wither skull still marring the table, and back to Tubbo. She considers for a moment more, then,

"I agree. I will be stepping down from my position as an advisor to President Quackity of L'manberg."

Quackity is rubbing his temples as if he had a massive headache, but he says,

"Ellos estan locos, todos de esto es loco. Pero,  _ fine,  _ sure, I step down as president of L'manberg. Fuck that place anyway, I guess."

“Guys?” Fundy says quietly. They turn to him, and he looks suddenly very, very fragile.

“I’ll agree too, sure, but… if… y’know, if we're talking about protecting people, my f- Wilbur needs help, guys. I know I haven’t been the most… involved with things here, but…”

“Hold on just a sec Fundy, so like, is that everyone? No government?”

“I think we just fucking dissolved L’manberg, Technoblade, but yeah sure, no government.” Quackity snarks.

“Cool, cool. Just making sure.” He says, and he’s leaning back in his chair, returning to looking completely bored.

“Dude, can you take that ugly ass skull off the table now?”

“Oh, sorry.” He snatches it back, and the room manages to relax slightly. “Go ahead Fundy.”

“I… I don’t know, I’m not sure what happened, but... my father is not himself. He needs help.”

“Fundy, man…” Tommy says, his normal energy drained from his voice, 

“Exile wasn’t… good. For him, of course, I’m a big man so I was fine. But Wilbur’s a bit emotional sometimes, you know, so he… he’s been struggling. I’m sorry, big man. I  _ wanted  _ to- I did fucking  _ everything _ , but we were- it was just us, and-”

Suddenly Tommy is paying very close attention to the table, and feeling Tubbo trying to squeeze comfort into his hand. If his eyes began to look glassy, it was definitely because Eret’s castle sucks and was really dusty. 

“It’s okay Tommy, I- he just needs help.”

“We’re going to give him the best of what we’re able, Fundy, I promise.” Dream says. Tommy snorts a laugh,

“Even though he stabbed you?” He asks sarcastically. Dream smiles softly at him and shrugs,

“And I’ve shot you before. Bygones, man.”

Eret raises their glass of water,

“To bygones!”

Everyone in the room with water, and those who didn’t, raise their hands and reach to clink them together. 

“I literally hate you all.” Quackity laughs, but eventually adds his to the pile as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plot goes brrrr
> 
> are these characters hopelessly ooc? do their decisions make sense? I dont know, maybe, maybe not! but we're really getting close to what i have planned for this fic, and that's absolutely crazy! :D


End file.
